The 2025

If I ask people in my personal village, how would you describe 2025? The response would be somewhere along the lines of: life-changing, unstable and unpredictable, shedding the old and rebirth, shattering, etc. Whether you believe in astrology and planetary movements or not, I am sure you have someone in your life who made a big life change, like moving countries, changing jobs, ending a long-term relationship, getting married, or any other life-changing event. So many businesses around the globe underwent significant restructuring changes, downsizing, and all that creates big unsettling feelings within us.

Where I am right now, life and time take another form. Changing job inevitably means changing place of living, means saying goodbye to your friends or loved ones in a matter of days and resetting your life with a click of a button. Any day can truly be the last one; it is the ultimate challenge to practice staying grounded within. Apart from my beautiful village of friends and family that I am deeply grateful for, when alone I am finding solace in books and podcasts as my companions. Sometimes they offer some comfort and understanding that we can’t necessarily find in our family and friends; different circumstances seek different comfort buddies. I find great inspiration and solace in different biographies; reading about how people overcame diversities gives me a sense of hope and maybe strength in some ways. When we go through life-changing moments, often we can feel alone or have a feeling we are the only ones going through these hardships. However, if we take a moment and look around, we will notice how many people in our lives are going through their own battles and how much we can learn from witnessing and holding space for each other.

My main takeaway this year is the importance of witnessing each other’s lives. We all crave and want witnesses to our lives; having a friend, partner, or family member witnessing our happiness, pain, and sadness is, in a sense, saying that we exist and belong. Someone cares deep enough for us to be there and say: I see you. Being a witness sometimes means just being present and not trying to change anything for the other. This can be hard when we have to witness the pain of a loved one; we want to make it better, fix it, make it go away – I am certainly guilty of it. Staying present with the pain of someone you love is hard, but sometimes the most healing and generous thing you can do for the other is to say to that person: I see your pain, it is real, and I am here to hold space for you. I don’t think there is a greater grace and belonging we can receive. Naturally, the same goes for happy moments; I find we hold space for those slightly easier; it is certainly less uncomfortable.

The big question is, how do we hold space for ourselves? In those quiet moments of the nights, in those overwhelming moments at the airports or crowds where you can feel like the loneliest person on the planet, in those sudden moments of panic in the office toilets or sudden rushes of sadness in the midst of unexpected realizations. I am not sure there is a universal response to this; we are soothed by different things at different times. I spoke to many people lately with interest to try and learn from them what helped them go through the hardest times in their lives; here are the most common ones.

Breathwork was the first one my fellow villagers mentioned. In moments of big, difficult emotions, they found comfort in breathwork. The beauty of it is that there are so many types out there, so many free guided tracks and classes that are available. The best part is that it is all breathing, so it cannot harm you. It can be as short or as long as you like. I have linked below my current favorite one.

Grounding in your hobbies or interests, sometimes immersing yourself in the things of interest is so soothing and gives the mind much-needed rest. I found that doing something with your hands or movement goes even further. Through movement, the body also releases stress stored within at cellular levels. If there is some artistic hobby you are slightly into, it is healing. Art and creation are antidotes to pain and dissolution. I combine a coloring book with a podcast for my small artistic healing sessions.

I am yet to meet a person who doesn’t enjoy being in nature of some form. Whether that is a beach and sea or mountains and trees, we feel connected. During turbulent times in our lives, spending time in the form of nature suitable to us can be extremely rejuvenating and healing. Some of us tend to grasp the grandiosity and ancient wisdom that nature holds. It was here before us and it will be there after us.

Often times during hard times some of us tend to shut the world and people out, we don’t necessarily want to crumble in front of the eyes of the other. We feel exposed, vulnerable, ashamed, ugly, weak. Paradoxically, even if forcing ourselves to spend time with others it does bring us some soothing and relief for a bit. There is a reason for many group and communal therapies that bring people together and help us overcome some of the most difficult times in our lives. When we extend the trust of our vulnerable times and share with others, usually most profound and deep bonds are created. Nevertheless, it takes courage and willingness to reach those moments.

Then there are our daily routines and rituals, the ones we usually do without putting too much thought into turn out to be the pillars of soothing and healing when most needed. I have learned that when I feel like so many of the things are out of my control in life, I always have control over my daily mundane routines. In those destabilizing times, I tend to increase my focus on the rituals, hobbies and routines I can control. It gives me sense of focus, stability and feeling of regaining control over some parts of my life.

This post is personal reflection with aim to remind us all that we are not alone. I hope you allow yourself to be seen, to have your life witnessed and to hold space for yourself and others. Below are lists of books and podcasts that were my companions in the hardest moments.

I hope 2026 brings you all comfort, peace, stability and most of all love for yourself and your loved ones.

All my love,

Eni

Books

Malala Yousafzai: Finding My Way

Elizabeth Gilbert: All The Way To The River

Suleika Jaouad: The Book of Alchemy

Suleika Jaouad: Between Two Kingdoms

Alain De Botton: The Scool of Life

Irvin D. Yalom: Love’s Executioner

Thais Gibson: Attachment Theory

Terri Cole: Too Much