Winter frost and thoughts about New Year's resolutions

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Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you are having a great time during the holidays. Here in Belgrade, it doesn't feel at all like we are in the middle of winter. With temperatures at 15 degrees C it's like the cold days are over and we are heading straight towards the spring. We only had one day of snow which you'll see below in the photos and occasional cold, frosty mornings. It's the only chance really for photographing the nature - the bare trees and sunshine are not a winning combination.

If you follow some alternative channels, there's been a talk lately about New Year's date and whether it's really supposed to start in the middle of winter. Many agree that logical start of the year is in March (September for southern hemisphere), with the coming of spring. That's when nature wakes up and starts a new cycle.

Starting things in the middle of winter when everything is in hibernation is counter-intuitive and messes up our natural cycles. Even the month names suggest that - December comes from the word "ten", which makes it the tenth month not the twelfth.

What I like to do is make January and February buffer months - during this time I reflect on the previous year, review how I did with my goals and slowly come up with new resolutions. Most of the people who put effort in bettering themselves create New Year's resolutions only to fail few weeks later. Middle of winter is not the time to commit to change. It doesn't mean you have to wait for a specific date to change bad habits, you can start it today, but keep in mind that, just as nature, we also have cycles in which certain things come more effortlessly. Embrace the slowness of winter and ignore those who tell you you should be active all the time.

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