Happy new month / January 2026

Although I don’t really have any reason to believe that the future of humanity will be any better than the present or the past, I will still give you my wishes for a happy new year.

One that is more peaceful, more humane, more empathetic.

Of course, reality seems to point in the opposite direction. But wishes don’t hurt, and hope is the last thing we can afford to lose.

Not a very festive opening for the very first post of the year, I know. But hoping for the best is one thing, and refusing to deal with reality is another.

Don’t worry, this is not going to be a dark post. On the contrary. I just wanted to give a bit of context to my thoughts.

The first day of the year actually started with a very pleasant walk. The sun was shining, the bravest winter swimmers were enjoying the sea, and many people were outside, making the most of the scenery and the unusually good weather.

It was supposed to be a very cold day, according to the forecast, but it turned out to be quite the opposite. And as usual on walks like this, our dog enjoyed it the most :)

For those who don’t follow me, I should probably mention again that we are in Nafplio, a small touristic town in Greece, with a charming old town, two castles, and a fortress left behind by the Venetians.

Our walk took place in the lower of those castles, an area with plenty of untended space that resembles a meadow. An excellent place for wildflowers to grow and for hyperactive dogs to burn off their energy!

Well, that’s it. I hope my pictures feel more optimistic than my words. I guess some of you will skip the text anyway and leave with a lighter impression of the post :)

Happy new year, either way.

Let’s see what it brings.

The last photo is a small reminder that, just like there are many ways to spend New Year’s Day, there are many ways to live our lives too.

Thank you for reading and if you want to know more about me you can check out my introduction post.

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