All in Divine Timing
The Pressure of the "First"
We’ve all felt it. That invisible, mounting pressure that begins somewhere around December 26th when the whole world starts shouting: “New Year, New You!” “Get ready to hit the ground running!” “Where is your 12-Month Roadmap?”
By January 1st, we are expected to have our lives perfectly planned out into spreadsheets and spectacular resolutions. And if you miss just one day to start sprinting toward your goals, you are already late.
I don’t know about you, but personally, it takes me about a month and a half to truly get into the flow of the new year. On January 1st, my spirit is still trying to recover from all the frantic marketing that we are subjected to and all the expectations of holiday celebrations. And to be quite honest, at the time of this writing, I’m not even halfway done with last year’s resolutions. So there!
For a long time, I tried to keep up with this crazy hustle culture and all it got me was headaches, insomnia and unnecessary stress. You know that constant feeling like you are "late" to your own life and like you are already behind before the year has even started… Ugh, I am done with that!
So this year, instead of leaping off the block when the clock struck midnight, like runners do when the gun goes off at the start of a race, I decided to lean into a different tradition by giving myself permission to slow down, an idea inspired by the story of La Befana.
Wisdom from the "Christmas Witch"
In Italian folklore, the holiday season doesn't end on New Year's Day. It culminates on January 6th, on the day of the Epiphany and the story of La Befana.
Legend says that La Befana, also known as the "Christmas Witch" or “La Vieja Belen” was invited by the Three Kings to join them in their journey to find the Christ Child. She declined at first, staying behind to finish her household chores and sweeping. By the time she set out, the window had passed for her to make it on time for the Christ Child’s birth. Nevertheless, she decided to go anyway, and even though she arrived after the fact, one week later to be exact, she brought with her many gifts and sweetness to all.
The word epiphany means a sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something. Like La Befana, an epiphany never arrives when it is expected, it arrives exactly when it is meant to, often after the noise of the "official" celebration has died down. In other words, she arrives in Divine Timing. Reflecting on La Befana’s story, here are the three useful lessons we can incorporate in 2026 to embody this practice of Divine Timing:
Lesson 1. Leaning into Gratitude
This year, instead of rushing to fill a blank page with new demands, why not simply start the year by celebrating all the things you accomplished in 2025. Something I am leaning into this year is being deeply grateful for all the blessings I have already received and am currently receiving. When we lead with gratitude, we realize that we aren't starting from "zero." We are starting from a place of abundance. Before you ask for more, take the month of January to look back and say "thank you" to the universe for all the blessings you have received and most importantly of all say THANK YOU to the woman in the mirror who got you through it all.
Lesson 2. Returning to Yourself
However, if you feel that you got disconnected from your goals, or that life threw things your way that caused you to get distracted or to stray from your path, remember that a "reset" isn't about becoming someone new, but about remembering who you really are and about returning to yourself. Maybe you don’t even need to call it New Year’s resolutions; maybe it’s just a gentle re-centering. But hey, if doing resolutions helps you get focused on your old goals again, then by all means, do whatever you need to do to get back on track. But instead of putting pressure on yourself to accomplish a whole new set of to do lists, let it be more like a process of homecoming.
Lesson 3. Staying Grounded in Divine Timing
Something else I decided to do differently this year is to give myself a three-year window to accomplish my goals. This way I can ease into them and not feel like I have to get it all done in one year. This simple act of giving yourself all the time you need to accomplish your goals, instead of trying to force yourself to get it all done yesterday, helps you release the pressure of "on time" and embrace the magic of "Divine Timing."
How to Ground When the Pressure Kicks In
Notwithstanding, even when we try our best to stay grounded, the world is loud, overwhelm throws us off our center and stress has a way of creeping in. When you feel that sense of urgency rising in your chest- the feeling that you must be doing more, faster- it helps to have a "nervous system anchor" to fall back on.
In somatic embodiment work, we don't just think our way out of anxiety; we move our way through it. And so in the true spirit of the tradition of La Befana, I too come bearing gifts. My New Year’s Gift to You: The Diva Dancer Somatic Self-Care Checklist.
This checklist contains a list of my favorite, most simple and practical somatic self-care hacks to help you calm your nervous system & come back to your center for when things get intense. And I can’t wait to share it with you ☺️.
Click HERE to get your free copy of the Somatic Self-Care Checklist.
In conclusion, as we begin to settle into the energy and the flow of 2026, my wish for you is that in the same way that La Befana arrives with gifts of epiphanies and sweetness, after the noise of the celebrations has dimmed, may your heart’s deepest desires manifest exactly when you are most ready to receive them.
And remember that we are never "late" to our own lives. We are exactly where we need to be to receive our own unique gifts in Perfect Divine Timing.
And until next time we meet, take good care of yourself and may your Divine Feminine Within smile upon You & Grace You with her Presence.
Love,
Atabuxi
Creator & Founder of the Diva Dancer Project
P.S. The Diva Dancer Total Women's Wellness Project is a comprehensive Women's' Wellness Program that incorporates Bellydance, Somatic Embodiment Work & Self Care to help empower women to take a more proactive approach toward improving their mental, physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. If you like what you read here, and you want to find out more about how you can benefit from this wellness program, click HERE to sign up for my email list and get notified about upcoming Diva Dancer workshops.
