The Subtle Shift

Reconnecting to that quiet place inside for spiritual alignment

Last year, 2025, felt like the year I quietly lost my way.

Not in a dramatic, obvious sense — but in the small, daily way that matters the most. I lost my focus. I drifted from my center. I let too much noise into the sacred space of my mornings. I would wake up and reach for my phone before I reached for myself, and before I knew it, I was tumbling down a rabbit hole of bad news, heavy stories, and the kind of energy that slowly erodes your spirit.

For a long time, I had been deeply spiritually aligned. But last year, it felt like all the wheels came off. I wasn’t broken — just scattered.

Disconnected from the quiet place inside me that knows what really matters.

So, this year, I didn’t make a big, dramatic resolution.

I made a subtle shift.

Now, when I wake up, I don’t grab my phone. I stay in bed for a few moments and gently list the things I’m grateful for before my feet ever touch the floor. It’s my way of arriving in my own life before the world starts talking to me.

Then I move into the living room, sit in my reading chair, and open my spiritual books. One of them is “Journey to the Heart” by Melody Beattie— a book I’ve read a million times, yet it still knows how to find me exactly where I am. After I read, I write. I let myself spill out onto the page — how I’m feeling, what’s stirring, what I need. Then I write down ten things I’m grateful for and send them to my Project Miracle partner. That small ritual has changed everything.

It’s not about perfection. It’s about presence.

It’s not about controlling life. It’s about choosing how I meet it.

The world is loud. The news is heavy. Negativity is everywhere — in our feeds, on our TVs, even in our conversations. But I no longer want that to be the first thing that touches my heart each day.

This gentle pivot — this subtle shift — has brought me back to myself.

I’m growing again.

Softly.

Spiritually.

With intention.

And that feels like coming home.

Jane Asher Reaney, author of The Next Room

---