When the year begins in silence
The elders used to say that a year never begins in a single step,
but that it is prepared—like a seed of life.
The twelve days when everything is set in motion
They observed and honored the first twelve days as one would observe freshly tilled soil.
Each day was not merely another day,
but an invisible seed, placed gently into time.
When the months take shape, one day at a time
The first day carried the breath of January.
The second whispered February…
And so, day after day, the months ahead revealed themselves in silence,
weaving the fabric of our yearly life.
What we live at the beginning leaves a trace
What we thought deep within,
what we spoke,
what we did during those days
was never meaningless:
everything descended into the depth of the year,
like a seed into the earth.
A wisdom passed down through time
The elders knew this.
They chose their words carefully.
They avoided conflict and harmful speech.
They blessed work, home, relationships, and the efforts that shape life,
and they wished the best—even to their enemies.
Time becomes alive when lived consciously
For time, during the first twelve days of the year, is alive.
When we meditate, pray, and listen,
each day becomes a unique breath of creation.
Across many spiritual traditions, this intuition has long been recognized:
the beginning of the year is sacred time—
a threshold,
a passage where the invisible becomes available to shape what comes next.
Beyond beliefs, a path of awareness
These twelve days are not meant for fear, cruelty, or harmful words,
nor for superstition,
but for self-awareness—
to understand the role of life and its perpetual cycles,
which teach us and help us grow on every level, through every experience.
They remind us that life—and the year itself—
is not a series of random events,
but a land to be cultivated,
where each intention becomes a root
and each action, a promise.
Plant with trust, and let life respond
Those who meditate and remain attentive during these days
do not seek to control the future,
but to honor it,
to make it sacred,
and to create—within themselves and around them—
a breath of providence and kindness.
We must always remember
that what we plant at the beginning
does not determine everything,
but it shapes a great deal.
And so, gently, the year begins its journey,
carrying within it the silent seeds
of the first twelve days.