The latter half of the year brought with it a relentless pace. Time was carefully measured and spent. Not a drop wasted. We found it to be manageable for a season, but more a question of surviving than thriving. We were head above the water but there wasn’t a moment to take a breath.

So the Christmas break brought with it a welcome stop. An extended moment to catch up – on the hours of sleep lost, the deep breaths missed, the novels neglected – and then take a step forward. Not just a return into neutral position, but a step forward – into the onwards and the new.

So I’ve had the grace with myself to keep things (including this blog) just ticking on in this season. I’m in harbour at the moment; sanctuary, a place to refuel and recoup. I anticipate a moment when I’ll set out on adventure again but I’m reconciled to it being still a moment out of reach right now. I’m filling this time of refreshment with…

Unbounded conversations. Dinner table chats that can extend into hours.

Long sleeps (and no alarms).

The latest issue of Oh Comely. The use of space in the magazine’s design gives room to breath while gaining inspiration.

Returning to familiar novels (in this instance, The Millennium Trilogy) that can be devoured in chunks, not ten-minute nibbles.

Walks that require wellies – the kind that don’t need much planning but will probably involve a patch of mud or two.

Unplanned days. Filled with possibility on waking and the unspoken understanding that the only limiting factor is daylight.

Normally this series goes up at the beginning of the following month (or in some cases, a little later…) but it seems right to put it up on the last day of the year. Drawing the close on one season, before another begins. See you when the next adventure begins.

This is part of a monthly series on the things that spur me on to keep going with intentional living. What has spurred you on recently?

Today’s soundtrack: family life, pottering around me.