My intuition knew... I wasn’t ready for 2026
My intuition knew... I wasn’t ready for 2026 to start in January!! 😂😍
I could have easily bought into the old belief that I was just running late again…
and believed the little thoughts that started bubbling up...
What are you doing?
Why haven’t you launched into your 2026 goals yet?!
This year was different.❤️
This wasn’t procrastination.
(Though my plate is certainly full.)
This wasn’t because I was too busy, too unorganised, too messy, too loud, too generous or too much…
This was intentional regulation.
When I painted this in Dec 2025, I didn’t know that 2026 was the Year of the Horse.
I painted the whirlpool first.
Because that’s exactly how my body felt at the time.
Unsettled. Overwhelmed. That familiar whirly feeling in my tummy when there’s a lot wanting to move, but the system isn’t quite ready yet, and I don't even know where to start... leave alone how to get there 🥹❤️
Then I started to add blobs in the water and I realised very quickly that they were water creatures... hovering... just watching the whirlpool... and they represented curiosity.
So I got curious, just like the beautiful Sally Holden has always taught me to do.🙏💞
What am I meant to learn from this?
What needs to grow so I can move through the whirlpool and into what’s next?
The answer didn’t come from thinking harder.
It came from listening.
From the background soundtrack of my life.
I heard a my daughter singing in the distance.. the song from Frozen 2…
That gets stuck in your head
A-ah-a-ahhh… A-ah-a-ahhh… 🌊🐎
And suddenly I could see it clearly.
A white water-horse flying straight out of the ocean and over the whirlpool.
No hesitation. No force. Just calm, embodied strength from a place of flow.
For me, that horse represents the kind of strength my body was asking for.
Physical strength.
Calm capacity.
Stamina.
A strong spirit held in a regulated body.
It represents regulated leadership.
Strength that comes from capacity, not pressure.
Physical strength. Emotional steadiness. Mental clarity. A grounded spirit.
The kind of strength that brings stamina and makes forward movement feel safe.
It’s funny… I listened to my body when I didn't have the capacity to send out Merry Christmas or Happy New Year messages this year.
Not because I didn’t care, but because my system needed a digital detox (as much as possible while still running a small business).
Less output. Fewer words. More listening.
That choice wasn’t withdrawal.
It was leadership through regulation.
Protecting capacity so I could show up sustainably.
Looking back, it makes perfect sense that I didn’t kickstart the year in January.
I naturally took the space to organise, plan, enjoy the school holidays with the kids, and gently build foundations while still showing up.
It turns out I wasn’t late at all.
I was preparing.
I was regulating.
I was building the strength needed to step into what’s next in 2026.
And now… I feel ready to soar.
Just like in the painting. 😍
So yes… 2026 officially begins for me at Chinese New Year 🐉✨
Turns out my internal leadership runs best on lunar timing Meera Allen 😍🌙🙏
....
WHY WATER COLOUR PAINTING?
Well I'm glad you asked 🙂
Special thanks to Nan Cameron for teaching the girls and I this incredible morning meditation with watercolour painting. I highly recommend getting along to one of Nan's "Paint Your Soul" workshops 💕 And to Claire Smith for continuing to foster that creativity in them (and I)!
The night after I painted this in my morning meditation with the girls,
the beautiful Jeanette Allom-Hill held The Lionhearted Foundation Christmas dinner and she spoke of 2026 being the year of the horse... and she asked us to ponder...
What horse be aligns with you for 2026?
Well that painting made it easy to answer... and its so me! 😂
[Excited like a kid in disneyland] "Oh my goodness!!" I bounced up to my dear friends and mentors Simone Leslie and Feda Adra... "mine is the white water-horse... the one from the Disney kids movie Frozen 2... I painted it yesterday... you know, that carries Elsa through the big waves of the ocean..." 😂 LOL ...
and now I can hear my big 11 saying "oh mum, not that Frozen white horse painting story again" 😍
(Oh and its a water horse so maybe opposite of a fire horse? LOL ...but thats also pretty typical of me 😂)
Yep...
so excited and ready for 2026 🥰🙏🌊🐎
Happy Lunar New Year ✨️