Tonight, the Western calendar turns its page. While the Chinese New Year won’t arrive for several more weeks—closer to the first stirrings of spring—the Gregorian year ends now, in the deepest part of winter. It’s a curious mismatch of rhythms that invites both reflection and gentle curiosity.
Winter doesn’t ask us to begin.
It asks us to listen.
Rather than pushing toward what’s next, this feels like a time to pause at the threshold—to notice what has carried us here, and what wants to soften, compost, or quietly remain. This is a moment to honor the journey of the year, to acknowledge the hidden currents that have supported us, and to give ourselves permission to simply sit with our own presence.
As this year closes, may you feel no rush to define what comes next. May your own inner light be enough to sit with for a while, without expectation or judgment. Tea, as always, gives us a way to hold that question in our hands, in warmth, in ritual, in attention.
This Week in Practice
A Year-End Gratitude Sit
Set aside a simple, unhurried tea session—alone, or with someone you trust—before the night ends. Give yourself permission to slow down fully, letting the moment unfold without hurry.
As you brew, let the intention be gentle: not gratitude as a performance, but gratitude as recognition. With each steeping, silently name one thing from the past year that sustained you—not only the obvious joys, but the quiet supports:
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A habit that kept you steady
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A conversation that shifted something
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A loss that clarified what matters
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A practice you returned to again and again
If nothing comes immediately, that’s fine. Let the tea work on you first, and allow the senses—the warmth of the cup, the scent of the leaves, the movement of the water—to guide the reflection.
At the end of the session, place your hands around the warm cup and acknowledge yourself—for staying, for continuing, for listening. No resolutions are required, only presence.
Five Element Insights
Water at the Threshold
Water Element teaches us about depth, storage, and potential. In winter, energy naturally moves inward, not forward, gathering quietly beneath the surface.
And yet, this time of year is often framed around becoming “better,” “new,” or “improved.” There’s subtle pressure to decide who you’ll be before you’ve had time to feel where you are, before you’ve noticed what the season is really asking.
From a Five Element perspective, this is backwards. Winter isn’t for launching new structures. It’s for restoring the well, for honoring what has been, and for letting the unseen currents take shape in their own time.
Consider these reflections instead:
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Where do you feel most resourced—and where do you feel depleted right now?
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What naturally dissolved this year without your forcing it?
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What images, longings, or questions are quietly forming beneath the surface?
Water doesn’t rush toward form. It gathers, deepens, and waits. Spring will take care of expression. For now, simply allow yourself to dream beneath the surface, without pressure, without expectation, without the need to act immediately.
What We’re Drinking
Inner Light: Private Reserve Shou Puerh 2023
Inner Light feels especially appropriate at this time of year. In the first steepings, floral and earthy notes rise gently, then deepen into flavors of pie crust, brioche, dates, and wet earth—grounded, nourishing, and full of quiet complexity. There’s a strong, steady core with subtle dimensions that continue to unfold cup after cup, rewarding patience and attention.
Like the season itself, this tea reflects darkness not as absence, but as richness. The solstice has already passed, and the light has begun its quiet return, even if we can’t yet see it fully. Once this tea is gone, it will not be restocked—get it while it’s still here to savor a final taste of this year’s harvest.
Pressed from a blend of old-growth and young trees from Yiwu Mountain, Inner Light carries both refinement and wildness—uplifting without being scattered, strong without being harsh. It’s the kind of tea you want to drink daily when listening more than acting, when presence matters more than performance.
Current Inspirations
Music for the Turn of the Year
Spacious and patient, Promises by Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, and the London Symphony Orchestra unfolds slowly, built on repetition, breath, and subtle emergence. There’s no urgency here, only a gradual unfolding that rewards deep listening, revealing small details with each return.
This music encourages gentle attunement to time and space, allowing quiet reflection to emerge naturally. Perfect for a long winter sit, it mirrors the season’s inward rhythm, inviting calm, contemplative attention, and awareness of subtle shifts both around and within.
Friend of Living Tea
Juan Pablo Heredia — EKAM ATELIER
Based in Mexico City, Juan Pablo is a dear tea friend whose work exists at the intersection of mysticism, embodiment, and form. EKAM creates power objects, sacred adornments, and contemplative wear meant to anchor remembrance deeply into the physical world.
Cast in artisanal Mexican silver, each piece carries a raw, relic-like quality—more companion than accessory, inviting quiet, reflective presence. Like good tea, EKAM’s creations don’t explain themselves—they invite a living relationship, unfolding meaning over time as the wearer engages with them.