Hey friends, what a year. And yet, as our global unravelling accelerates, there’s so much worth living for. Gratitude is a potent force; if we allow it to blossom.
Over the holiday season, I encourage you to find a few moments to reflect on 2025 & cultivate gratitude. I’ve enclosed a few resources below and particularly recommend the Year Compass.
On my train back to the UK last Sunday, I finished my 2025 reflection. It’s been a year of growing pains with difficult transitions. But ultimately, the culmination of years of hard work. I now host monthly psychedelic retreats in my home ceremonial space, have a thriving counselling practice and combine that with a fulfilling 16-hour job, coaching teenagers at a Dutch high school.
But even more importantly, I feel surrounded by loving friends and feel an inner vitality & trust for the year ahead.
Much love & appreciation for all of you who have enriched my life this year. I wish you all an abundance of joy & resilience for 2026,
Tom 💚
I believe that intentionality is key in transcending the mundane, destructive path of “business as usual”. If you’ve not set intentions for the year ahead, or are interested in additional tools, check out these resources:
Perhaps the most potent, accessible reflection tool I’ve ever encountered. It’s open source with a variety of questions to both reflect on 2025 and look forward to 2026.
📅 Tim Ferris’ Past Year Review
I’ve been using Tim’s method for many years. Look in your 2025 calendar and pick out what events/people/activities felt consistently good/bad. Commit to the good stuff, cut out the “bad”. Simple, yet effective. He explains more in the blog.
💭 Why Needs are More Important than Goals
I wrote this article back in 2021 based on a more “Tony Robbins-esque” approach to goal setting. But it still feels relevant. When setting intentions, reflect on what need is behind each one. When you get down to the need level, you often realise there’s a more effective strategy to fulfil them - which often doesn’t involve consuming, polluting or working your ass to burnout.
📚 Extra Resources
🤔Should you have kids? Article, Planet Critical
This article struck a chord with me about the decision I’ve agonised on the most over recent years. They explain how having children has largely been a conscious choice in human culture and it’s only recently, with pro-natalist propoganda, that we are “uncritically reproducing.”
❤️ No Bad Parts, Book, Richard Schwartz
Internal Family Systems. If you’re even a little bit into personal development, you’ve heard about this. I recently finished the founder’s book and instantly started applying it with myself and clients. And wow, the results are phenomenal. To me, it’s quite clear that we are a collection of parts that need compassion for their feelings and needs. Through bringing attention to all of them, we bring them out of the shadow and find wholeness.
Happy holidays, everyone! A little secret about me: my inner child loves dinosaurs (and Christmas)!
“The work of the mature person is to carry grief in one hand and gratitude in the other and to be stretched large by them….grief keeps the heart fluid and soft, which helps make compassion possible.”
Thanks for reading this year. Happy holidays and all the best for 2026!
-Tom 💚
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