Singing The Blues, Tending The Candle’s Flame

DESCRIPTION

In this Winter’s Edge check-in episode, I pause at the beginning of 2026 to reflect, breathe together, and tend the nervous system in the midst of winter, grief, and collective uncertainty. Lighting a candle, I acknowledge the anniversary of last year’s Southern California fires, honor those living with loss, and invite us into a moment of shared warmth and compassion. I offer a preview of what’s ahead in the Winter’s Edge Soul Care series—especially the upcoming teaching on restraint—and reflect on the soul “muscles” being strengthened during this season. Drawing on poetry, grief wisdom, and the idea that January is for roots rather than resolutions, this episode encourages gentleness, patience, and trust in winter’s intelligence. It’s a quiet invitation to start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can.

SUMMARY

Recorded on January 7, 2026, this episode opens with candlelight, breath, and a moment of collective remembrance. Alexander marks the one-year anniversary of the Southern California fires that devastated Pacific Palisades and surrounding areas, inviting listeners to pause together—especially those holding grief, loss, or displacement. Rather than pushing forward with content, this episode honors winter’s call to slow down.

Alexander reflects on his recent holiday season spent in snow with Harvey and her dads—his first winter holiday since his father’s passing—and the deep emotional resonance of returning to snow, memory, and lineage. From this place, he offers a preview of the next phase of the Winter’s Edge Soul Care series, reframing it as a process of soul muscle building.

He names the upcoming fourth teaching—Restraint—as a guiding star for early winter and the new year, sharing how restraint has already shaped his relationship to consumption, gifting, and pacing. A constellation of “R” words emerges organically: restraint, repetition, ritual, roots, re-imagining loss, and revisioning grief. Together, these form a seasonal framework that resists urgency and honors depth.

The episode weaves in poetry and wisdom that challenge the cultural pressure to “start over” in January. Listeners are reminded that winter is not the time to bloom, but to rest, dream, and strengthen roots. Reflections on grief—personal and collective—are paired with a powerful line heard in an interview with Nick Cave: “Joy comes out of the blues.” This becomes a reminder that sorrow and aliveness are not opposites, but companions.

The episode closes with a gentle invitation into Mid-Winter Wise Circle, beginning February 17, offering a six-week container for soulful practice, listening, and community. The candle remains lit, warmth is extended outward, and listeners are encouraged to trust where they are on the path.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• This Is a Pause, Not a Push
  The episode intentionally slows down, offering a check-in rather than a full teaching installment.

• Winter Is for Soul Muscle Building
  Winter strengthens restraint, patience, depth, and inner resilience rather than productivity or reinvention.

• Restraint Is Coming Next
  The upcoming fourth episode will explore restraint as a core soul care practice—one already being lived and embodied.

• January Is for Roots, Not Resolutions
  Winter supports rest, reflection, and consolidation rather than radical change or performance.

• Grief Is Personal and Collective
  Loss extends beyond death—touching land, homes, ecosystems, democracies, and communities.

• Joy Emerges from the Blues
  Singing the blues makes joy possible; depth allows aliveness.

• Gentleness Is the Practice
  January invites softness, patience, and care rather than urgency.

• Wise Circle Invitation
  Mid-Winter Wise Circle begins February 17, offering a six-week container for soul care, listening, and community.