What I’m Tossing Into the Bonfire This New Year
A reflection on release, reckoning, and choosing what comes next
New Year’s Eve invites ritual.
Not the loud, performative kind, but the kind that tells the truth.
This year, instead of resolutions, I am imagining a bonfire.
And instead of tossing in a scrap of paper with a generic wish, I am offering something more honest.
2025 was not a year that asked politely.
It arrived with diagnosis, disruption, and deep reckoning. It stripped away assumptions, sped up decisions, and slowed time in ways I did not expect. It asked me to receive help. It demanded presence. It made it impossible to keep postponing life.
So as this year closes, here is what I would place into the fire, deliberately, gratefully, and without regret.
The Myth That I Must Be Strong Alone
This year made it clear that strength does not mean doing everything myself.
I release the belief that needing support is a failure.
I release the old reflex to muscle through when the wiser choice is to lean in and let others help.
2025 taught me that receiving is not weakness. It is a form of mastery.
Deferred Living
“I’ll do that later.”
“Someday.”
“When things calm down.”
This year exposed how fragile those promises really are.
Into the fire goes the habit of postponing joy, creativity, and meaning for a future that is never guaranteed. There is no better moment to live fully than the one already here.
Outgrown Containers
Some spaces no longer fit, not because anything is wrong, but because growth happened.
I release the urge to make myself smaller so relationships, roles, or structures can stay the same. I release the idea that longevity equals alignment.
There is a lid for every pot. And sometimes the bravest thing to do is leave the kitchen altogether.
The Hustle Hangover
Even when I was not hustling, I could still feel its residue, the quiet pressure to prove, push, and produce.
Into the fire goes the belief that stopping means everything will fall apart.
Into the fire goes the idea that worth must be constantly earned.
What 2025 showed me instead is this. Presence creates more impact than pressure ever could.
The Version of Me Who Was Surviving Instead of Choosing
I honor her.
She did exactly what was needed to get through.
And now, I release the version of myself who accepted what was available instead of what was true. Survival kept me going. Choice is what carries me forward.
Borrowed Urgency
Not all pressure is internal.
I release timelines that were never mine to begin with.
I release the sense that I am behind or late or missing something.
This next chapter unfolds at a pace shaped by discernment, not anxiety.
My Old Contract with Time
This year changed my relationship with time completely.
Into the fire goes the belief that time is always running out.
What remains is something truer. Time is responsive. It expands when life is lived with intention and presence.
What I Will Whisper as the Fire Burns
If I were to speak a vow into the flames, it would be this.
I release what was required for survival
and claim what is required for joy, presence, and legacy.
What Remains
After the fire, what is left is not emptiness, but clarity.
Discernment instead of endurance.
Depth instead of speed.
Belonging instead of proving.
Living now instead of waiting.
I do not feel like I merely survived 2025.
I feel initiated by it.
And I step forward, not in a rush, but with intention.
A Gentle Invitation
If these reflections resonate, you may be standing at a similar threshold.
The Ruby Slipper Collective is a thoughtfully curated, peer-to-peer circle for accomplished women who have built meaningful lives and careers and are now asking deeper questions about what comes next. It is not about striving, fixing, or reinventing yourself. It is about creating space to listen, reflect, and choose with clarity and companionship.
We begin our journey together in late January. Before that, I am hosting a free Ruby Slipper Roundtable for women who want to experience the tone, depth, and possibility of this kind of conversation.
We simply gather, reflect together, and see what wants to emerge, based on your responses to the Your Next Magnificent Chapter Journal.
If that feels like the right next step, you are warmly invited to join us. First download the journal. Then, the registration page for the January 6 Ruby Slipper Roundtable shows up on the “thank you” page. See you there!
