25 Slow Living Lessons 2025 Taught Me - Reflections Before the Winter Solstice

Three weeks before the Winter Solstice, the nights are stretching and the daylight waning. Soon the tide of the year will turn, but for now we are cocooned in the safety and warmth of darkness, illuminated with candles and Christmas trees as we travel towards the longest night of the year. It certainly is the right time for summaries and contemplation about the past and the future.

2026 is on my mind a lot lately as I prepare our New Year series (starting 27/12/2025 here on the blog every Saturday morning), but so is 2025. As this year is slowly coming to an end, I feel grateful for the good things that came my way and for the lessons learned.

I have a page in my notes app where I quickly type in any thoughts or lessons that arise in daily life, that I hear online, in conversation, or on the mat. I was meant to publish it for my birthday in November, but somehow it didn’t happen until today.

Another year is almost spent, but not in vain - it certainly left me wiser and feeling more confident and sure of the path I have taken. Here are my random thoughts, life lessons, and nuggets of wisdom 2025 has taught me, which will perhaps give you food for thought, inspire you, or reflect your own experience of the past 12 months.

25 Slow Living Lessons from 2025

1. There is real value in things being difficult.

2. Putting in the work pays off, even if you can’t yet see the results.

3. Not all chapters in life come with closure - you just have to learn to move on for your own good.

4. People often have no clue, yet will share their opinions anyway.

5. Comparison steals joy, mental peace and creativity.

6. Your natural hair pattern is the best - don’t fight it.

7. There is a difference between what we know and what we feel…

8. …and no feeling is final.

9. Progress is slower than Instagram would have us believe.

10. Yoga practice isn’t about becoming more flexible, but about noticing your own reaction to not being flexible.

11. People don't want you to be perfect - they just want you to be you.

12. You’ll never be universally liked and that’s a good thing. It means you have a personality.

13. Refusal is also good - it gives you clarity and freedom to move on.

14. Having a good partner in life is so important. You can’t build yourself up while someone is pulling you down.

15. It’s better to be alone than lonely in a relationship

16. Success is much less about talent and much more about self-discipline, consistency and learning from your mistakes.

17. One of the best parts of adulthood is the freedom to choose who you want to be. I decided I’m going to become an author.

18. Financial wealth isn’t handbags and holidays - it’s a private pension and being debt-free.

19. Anger and violence come from frustration - remember that when you think of anyone who has ever hurt you.

20. You can offer a helping hand, but it’s not your job to fix people. Everyone is responsible for themselves.

21. The moon reminds us that waning is a normal part of the cycle.

22.Peace is a practice, not a personality trait - you build it daily.

23. You can convince your brain of many things, but you can’t fool your body.

24. What you repeat - habits, thoughts - becomes who you are.

25. The earth will hold you.

This last thought is something you’ll hear often in yoga practice as a reminder to ground and build stability. Jokingly, when practicing an advanced pose, a teacher might say that if you fall, the ground will be there to catch you. Of course, no yoga teacher wants their student to have a fall - it’s simply a reassurance that we all stumble and wobble in our practice and sometimes we might fall, but that’s okay - it’s just part of the process. Just like in everyday life.

Aside from this direct sense, this phrase holds so much meaning. Yes, the earth will be there to hold us. No matter what arises in our daily lives, the sun will rise, the Spring will come, the birds will return and - as you hold weight on your shoulders - the ground beneath your feet will hold you...

There is incredible reassurance in the repetition of the seasons, teaching us that nature repeats itself for a reason - routine nurtures growth. When in doubt, look to nature. May this be our guiding thought for 2026.

Thank you for reading
Adriana x