A leap into 2026

"Diving'" by Fredrik Brodén

This year has taken away people I have loved. Friends I thought would be with me longer. The longing for them is not dramatic. It´s everyday. It comes up when I’m about to make a call. It arises when I hear a laugh that sounds familiar, when I think “I must tell them this” and realize I can’t. Or when someone rings the doorbell and I briefly think “It’s probably him.” But it’s not.

I have seen friends struggle. Family struggle. Friends afflicted by terminal illness. Parents whose lives have been changed, their roles redefined. I have witnessed strength that is not loud but quiet, stubborn and of course tired, yet still present every morning. Life slowly but inexorably demands renegotiation. Despite everything I have seen pragmatic, clear sighted thinking about life. That it’s the “here and now” that matters.

And at the same time, amidst the challenges, a little grandchild. A small life that knows nothing of loss but naturally understands joy. That lights up existence effortlessly. That makes me feel the future, not as a threat, but as something alive.

The world around has been hard to comprehend. Ups and downs. Driven by power, money and people who seem to lack both sense and reason. Sometimes it feels as if we live in an absurd theater where the least suited have been given the leading roles. Irony has become a survival strategy. A way to endure without shutting down. So, we laugh. Not because it’s funny, but because the alternative is to feel hopeless.

And myself. I notice that I sort thoughts differently now. I linger longer on what matters and let go of the rest more quickly. I feel more, but I don’t allow everything to take space. There is a difference there that I didn’t have before. I may be more sensitive to things that touch me. I am less easily swayed. I know more now about what is worth my time, my energy and my presence. I am more uncompromising, not out of defiance but out of clarity. It is not decay nor wisdom in grandiose letters, but more a seriousness in what matters. I believe I can see through the words. What is true and what is more “made-up” and “to be agreeable.” I am more sensitive to words. Also more sensitive to people. Those who are genuine and those who need to be something else.

This year has not made me smaller. It has stripped away. It has taken illusions but left clarity.

As I look forward to next year I do not wish to be younger, lighter or more compliant. I wish for joy. Laughter that comes unexpectedly. Belly laughs that make you cramp. Adventures, being more crazy than wise. Madness that arises spontaneously. Experiences that resonate in the body. Conversations that go deep. And I stubbornly and defiantly hope that the world’s craziness will start to turn. That it will become more peaceful. More humane. Less ego and more heart.

I enter what is coming with 2026 without rounding any corners, without making excuses. It is not courage. It is just how it is now.

So, let’s wrap up 2025 in a neat package and fill it with what has been and then take a big lovely leap into 2026, filling it with craziness, laughter, curiosity and joy!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!