Crossing Thresholds

cbr, 2025, #nowplaying – Someone New - Astrid S

I can feel it in the air – that subtle shift that happens when we're crossing into a new season. The holidays are approaching, carrying with them all those complex emotions that always seem to intensify when the world gets festive and the days grow shorter. There's something about this time of year that makes me simultaneously nostalgic and forward-looking, like I'm standing in a doorway between what was and what could be.

Last year (or was it the year before? Time has this beautiful way of blurring at the edges), my friends and I started this tradition of reading a book together during the holiday season. We chose this incredibly heartwarming novel about cowboys finding love at Christmas – all rugged landscapes and tender hearts finding each other against the backdrop of snow-covered ranches and small-town holiday celebrations.

Those mornings spent curled up with tea, texting each other our reactions as we moved through chapters together, created this invisible thread connecting us through words and shared emotions.

But this year feels different. This year, I'm shedding old skins and embracing new rhythms.

We change, don't we?

Sometimes slowly, almost imperceptibly, and other times in these dramatic bursts of transformation that leave us blinking in surprise at our own reflections.

The holidays have always been this complicated dance between honoring traditions and creating space for evolution. This year, I'm leaning fully into the evolution part. Let's be real – holding onto what no longer serves us is exhausting. Those relationships that have run their course? Those expectations that never really belonged to me in the first place? That version of myself I've outgrown? I'm releasing them all with both gratitude and determination.

We don't have to choose between honoring our past and embracing our future. We can hold space for both. We can remember those cozy reading sessions with fondness while creating entirely new traditions that reflect who we're becoming.

This season, I'm celebrating all the new growth in my life – the fresh perspectives, the brave boundaries, the unexpected relationships, the evolving dreams. I'm acknowledging that transformation isn't always comfortable (hello, growing pains), but it's always, always worth it.

So as we enter this holiday season together, I'm curious – what are you releasing? What are you welcoming? What parts of yourself are you rediscovering or meeting for the very first time?

Those moments when you feel caught between nostalgia and anticipation? They're sacred thresholds. Those times when you're simultaneously grieving what's ending and celebrating what's beginning? That's where the magic happens.

Stay open. Stay transforming. Stay beautifully, authentically you.

With love for all your seasons,

Mitchell Royel