Notes from the Wild Edge: A Pause Between What Was and What’s Next

There’s something about the space between Christmas and the New Year.

The pace drops. The noise fades. And for a brief moment, there’s room to notice what’s been sitting quietly in the background.

Not a crisis. Not a demand. Just a gentle awareness.

For many leaders, this is when a particular thought surfaces.

Not loudly. Not urgently.

Just enough to be felt.

It’s often a question rather than a decision. A sense that something is ready to change. Or that a chapter has completed, even if the next one hasn’t fully formed yet.

During the year, this awareness gets crowded out by responsibility and momentum. But in this softer space, it has room to breathe.

What I notice, time and again, is that clarity doesn’t arrive as a command.

It arrives as permission.

Permission to admit that something no longer fits. Permission to loosen your grip on what once worked. Permission to trust that instinct doesn’t disappear - it waits.

There’s no requirement to act on this now.

Boxing Day isn’t for decisions. It’s for listening.

For noticing what feels complete. For recognising what wants to be different. For allowing yourself to stand at the edge without needing to leap.

If there’s something quietly waiting for your attention, you don’t need to rush it into action.

But you might want to acknowledge it.

Because what we’re willing to name gently now often becomes much easier to meet clearly in the weeks ahead.

If this note feels like it’s keeping you company in this in-between space, I’m glad.

There’s no next step required. Just the permission to listen a little more closely.