The Pause No. 2: Mantras for the New Year, 2026.

With the grace of the New Year, I made space to pause and reflect on the year gone by, and to gently set my intentions for the year ahead.

2025 will forever remain the year where my mind and body forced me to stop.

To Pause.

The waves of life felt relentless.

I was drowning.

The Pause was the raft that brought me back to land.

Back to where I could breathe.

Where I could feel the wind in my hair and the sand between my toes.

The Pause brought me back to life.

Returning to what is essential.

It offered a new lens a new focus on what truly matters.

With this new lens, I set the following mantras for the New Year, 2026:

                • Love is a lens. Look with love.

                • Love what I do. Do what I love.

                • Being true to myself is caring for myself.

                • Stress will rise; stress will fall. Managing stress is a continual practice.

                • Perfection is not the goal. Growth is.

                • Pay attention to the mind, the body, and the soul.

                • Practice The Pause. Prioritise the moments between moments.

I do not know what the New Year holds, but I do know these mantras will provide a guiding light for gratefulness and love, and for resilience and hope when they are needed most.

This is an invitation to Pause.

To take a breath.

- Michelle Valerie

This essay is part of The Pause.

← Read The Pause No. 1