The Truth at the Threshold: Reframing the Way We Begin Again
- Liza Engel
- 6 minutes ago
- 2 min read
There’s something tender about January.
It carries this cultural hum of fresh starts and reinvention. New year, new you, the headlines say. As if clarity is something we should possess instantly - as if buying a new planner or committing to a morning routine will suddenly change everything.
But real beginnings are often messier than that. It can be dark and cold.
Absolute clarity doesn’t always arrive on time.
In the work I do, and in the conversations I have, I notice a familiar pattern.
Many people don’t feel clear in January.
They feel… foggy.
A little tired.
Still integrating whatever the past year stirred up.
And that’s not a failure. That’s real life.
When you think about it, the holidays are often intense - emotionally, socially, energetically. So how could they possibly be the perfect preparation for a brand-new year? As if clarity, motivation, and direction should magically arrive - just because the calendar flips to 1 January.
What if we stopped expecting ourselves to be fully reborn on January 1st?
What if this threshold were less about the push to begin -
And more about the pause to listen?
Listening for what wants to emerge
We often ask:
What should I do this year?
What do I need to achieve?
How can I become more… (insert your aspiration)?
But here’s a softer set of questions I’m asking myself - and offering to you:
What wants to emerge from this season of my life?
What feels quietly true, even if it’s not yet fully formed?
What part of me have I been ignoring, that’s asking to be heard again?
Emergence isn’t forced.
It’s revealed - through rest, reflection, and deep listening.
The reframe: It’s okay to begin gently
You don’t need to map your whole year this week.
You don’t need to name your word, plan your moves, or optimize your life.
You can begin by becoming honest with yourself.
This honesty isn’t passive. It’s powerful. Because when you let go of the pressure to perform clarity, you create space for the knowing that can’t be rushed.
You become available to the life that wants to meet you.
A gentle invitation
This week, find 15 quiet minutes.
Ask yourself:
What wants to emerge through me this year - not from force, but from truth? The truth of your authentic self.
Could you write it down? Don’t edit. Don’t package it into a strategy.
Just listen. Let the whisper be enough - for now.
You are not behind.
You’re arriving.
And that is always enough.