Letter of Light for January

Dear Imperfectly Human Club,

January has a bit of a bad rep, doesn’t it?

Yesterday was “Blue Monday”, supposedly the most depressing day of the year. A phrase that sounds official enough to believe, but let this letter enlighten you that this is not a fact backed by science or psychology at all, but a marketing campaign from 2005 designed to sell holidays during the post-Christmas slump.

You could say that if January were a weekday, it would be a Monday. Both have earned their own version of the blues. Monday blues, January blues. The longest and bleakest month. The month we complain about and wish away while side-eyeing the calendar. Still writing last year’s date as if we want to go back to simpler times.

We all show up to January with the same phrases on repeat: “Is it over yet?” “It’s a long one, isn’t it?” “When is payday?”

And yes, January can feel heavy, the light is still low, the days are cold and quiet. Nature hasn’t sprung back into life yet, but still, we expect ourselves to. But, dear imperfectee, look around, things are still hibernating and retreating. Some things are still ending!

We pressurise ourselves to get it together, start again and become the “better version” of ourselves before the year has really begun. We pine after fresh starts and reinventions. Resolutions, gym memberships, quit this, cut back that, do more of this, do less of that.

A productivity sprint in January is not what nature intended. We’re asking ourselves to be perfect at a time when everything around us is doing the opposite. No wonder January can feel uncomfortable.

And you know what? Maybe there’s nothing wrong with this month. Maybe it isn’t something to power through or correct. Perhaps January is simply imperfect, like everything else.

So if you’re tired right now, remember the natural world isn’t rushing or performing. And if you feel quieter than usual, not yourself...you have permission to be apology-less.

January doesn’t need perfection from us, so we can also be a little imperfect in January, too.