The written loom

With muddy hands and an open heart.. 

People keep asking..

Why are you optimistic about 2026? What do you think it will bring?

As if years arrive with gift bags..
As if January shows up knocking politely, apologizing for the previous month..

(So far, none of them ever has..)

Why are you optimistic about 2026? What do you think it will bring?

The world looks tired..
People are anxious..
The soil is dry, stubborn, and not particularly cooperative..

– I don’t think it will bring anything..

Then why are you smiling?

– Because I stopped waiting for years to deliver good news.. Because I finally understood that years don’t give.. They don’t promise.. They don’t explain themselves.. They are cultivated..

I don’t trust 2026..
Not even a little..
I trust myself instead..
My hands..
My persistence..
My growing talent for showing up with a shovel and low expectations..

I keep planting..
Not because I’m hopeful..
But because I’m still here..
And this is what people who are still here do..

This isn’t optimism..
It’s not denial..
It’s definitely not a vision board..

It’s a practical kind of courage..
The kind that bends down, gets dirt under its nails, and plants something small without demanding a five year plan..

If a storm comes.. let it find me leaning toward the ground, arguing gently with a seed about whether today is a good day to grow..

Hands muddy..
Shoes ruined..
Heart open..

Not empty..

So.. once again..

“Why are you optimistic about 2026? What do you think it will bring?”

– I think it will bring flowers!

“Why do you think that?”

– Because I’m planting flowers!

Happy New Year to you all!

Tatiana,