Happy Solstice! The official start of winter. The shortest day of the year. I hope this finds you somewhere cozy and cuddled up.

This edition includes two special offerings. The first, is what I’m calling the winter energy experiment. A collection of creative practices and playful reflection prompts designed to help you stay centered through the start of winter (and the wildness of the holidays). As a subscriber of All Learning, you automatically get access to the experiment. A simple solstice ritual will go out later today. If this doesn’t sound like your thing, you can adjust your settings here.

The second special thing is an opportunity to share your learnings from 2024. I want to learn from you! More details below on how to submit. I’ll be sharing your learnings in the January edition of this newsletter.

NOTICING

What an absolute joy to have a record of 2024 through writing. Since publishing each month’s learnings, I haven’t gone back to any of them. Earlier this week I sat down and read them all in a row and it was a total delight. I did this! Even when I didn’t want to. Even when it felt like I had nothing to say. Thank you for spending part of your year, no matter how fractional, with my words.

To honor nearly one year of All Learning, I pulled 1-2 of the favorite lines from each month of 2024. The ones that still resonated upon rereading or that you quoted back to me in our texts, DMs, comments, and conversations. I am noticing that even when I feel disparate and chaotic, the throughline of my own voice and interests is a guiding force. Read together, they feel like an archive turned poem.

I’ve been trying to stay sweet with myself. And to me, community is the good stuff. Connections that cross-boundaries and bring joyful breathless “I can’t believe we met” moments to life. Sometimes it isn’t us that needs to change, it is the system around us.
So my question for you is, dear ever-changing reader, where are you holding back? The cool thing about compost is that it powers everything that’s meant to grow next. Nothing is wasted. And I don’t have the words or the answers except to say that the more I practice letting the grief and the joy be roommates, the more my ability to stay engaged expands.

I want to practice living into the not separate. The connected, intertwined, messy humanness of sharing time and space. No matter what it looks like, I think we all deserve our own attention and care. If you are noticing that being consistently known and seen in human relationships comes with challenges—you’re right. Let’s keep prioritizing it anyway. I think “the after times” will require us to write down our lessons. To reflect on our learning and development, and then put it into action.

If I can live a life believing in magic or not, I’m choosing magic every time.

READING

A list of some of my favorite books this year with no context, in chronological order of reading. Ask me about any of these and I’ll tell you why I loved it. (Wow, such a cute conversation starter for future us) And I very much want to know your favorite reads from 2024 in the comments!

• The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

• Writers and Lovers by Lily King

• Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

• See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love by Valarie Kaur

• Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

• Inciting Joy by Ross Gay

• Housemates by Emma Copley Eisenberg

• In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

• Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors

• Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey

REFLECTING

Looking to reflect in a way that doesn’t feel like a dreadful homework assignment or another thing you “should do?’ Same! That’s why I created the winter energy experiment, a 3(ish)-part collection of affirmations, short practices, and reflections prompts to dance into the start of the season. Literally. There will be dancing. For a preview of the vibes, see the prompts below.

• I am proud of…

• List 10 things you noticed today.

• How can I be more comfortable in this exact moment? More playful? More whimsical? (whimsy is vying to be my word of 2025)

LEARNING (from you!)

What did you learn in 2024? How did the year change you? What are you holding onto as we flip the calendar? What are you releasing? We want to know! And more than anything, I want you to join me in this practice of reflective writing. Let’s mark our learnings so they are there when we most need them.

If you would like to play, submit up to 200 words of any form/genre or an image (did someone say collage?) here by January 20, 2025. And before you ask, it doesn’t have to be something profound, though philosophizing is always welcome here. Share something practical like hot to use a power tool (hot) or the silliest thing that happened last year, whatever feels right. Can’t wait to learn from you!

I hope the start to winter is full of little sweetnesses, morning candles, and really good playlists. Sending all my love to you. See you soon over in the energy experiment?

Until next time, it is all learning.