You don’t need fixing.

January is a noisy time, isn’t it? Everywhere you look, it’s a chorus of “be better,” “fix this,” “start fresh,” “new year, new you.” It is so often coupled with messages like “You’re life’s not in order” or “you should do X more and less of Y”.

How do they know?

It’s kind of marketing basics - focus on someones pain, make them feel so bad they need to buy your thing to feel better or improved or whatever the key message is. It’s as if the world agreed that, come January 1st, we’d all collectively decide we weren’t good enough.

Scrolling through social media feels like seeing your reflection in one of those funhouse mirrors—not entirely accurate, warped just enough to make you question yourself.

But what if you are not broken. You don’t need fixing. What if you doing you today, is just perfect? A little crooked maybe, but otherwise, great?

If you’re willing, picture this instead for this weeks Sunday musings.

Step outside, leave the weight of expectations at the door, and find some place—any place—that smells of earth, wood, or rain. Imagine the crunch of frosty leaves underfoot or the soft squelch of muddy boots on a rain-dappled trail (which is likely what we’ll have this Sunday!). The crisp air (or rather gale force air this morning) tingles on your face, and the sky overhead stretches vast and limitless, indifferent to whether you’ve rolled out of bed or conquered your to-do list.

The outdoors doesn’t ask anything of you. It doesn’t look at you and think, you need more balance, you should work harder, you should play with your kids more, or why don’t you have a six-pack yet?

The oak trees groan softly in the wind, the ocean gently caresses the shore, and the birds sing their songs without any concern for how much you’ve achieved in life. Out here, no one’s trying to sell you anything, and there’s certainly no upgrade package for the self.

Spend a few quiet minutes in a place like this, and you’ll find it harder to believe the voices insisting you’re not enough as you are. Nature doesn’t grade on perfection. A crooked tree covered in moss is still part of the forest and plays an important role. An old fox moves just as gracefully as one at its prime. And so you, with your beautiful mess of flaws and triumphs, are part of this vast, breathing world—already whole, already worthy.

If you’re feeling weighed down by January’s demands to “do better” or strive more, don’t be.

Pull on your wellies or lace up your trainers or get on your bike. Walk until your head quiets. Run until your lungs sing. Go play with your kiddos outside - catch a ball, paint a tree… or hop on a bike. Find a spot beneath a tree and sit until the world slows down and the hum of life just chills out a bit.

The outdoors won’t judge you, it won’t make you “better.” But it might give you space to see yourself as enough, just as you are. Someone that doesn’t need fixing.

And that’s all that matters.

Find the thing that makes you feel you. It could be the peace of sitting still in a woodland glade, the rush of cycling through muddy trails, or the steady rhythm of your boots hitting the ground.

Whatever it is, do that. Not because you should or because it’s part of some plan to fix what isn’t broken, but because it makes you happy.

The next time a social media post tries to tell you otherwise, I hope you’ll remember the forest, the beach, the open skies—and how they accepted you wholeheartedly without question or condition.

Just like that, you are enough. Always.

If you want to play in the forest, learn some new skills, get in touch. We have fun in the forest and everyone’s welcome.