The Practice of Release
December is a month of doorways. One door closing, another opening. And in between—the threshold. It is here that we are invited to release.
Release is not about forgetting or dismissing. Release is about setting down what no longer serves us, so we can carry only what we need into the season ahead. For individuals, this might mean releasing the grip of shame, exhaustion, or expectations that were never ours to hold. For organizations, it may mean loosening structures, practices, or habits that keep the work small and heavy, rather than alive and possible.
I have been honored to sit with Hindu colleagues who have taught me the practice of Homa—a fire ritual of offering and release. Though I am not Hindu, I carry gratitude for what I have learned in those moments. My own grounding leans more deeply into African spiritual traditions, where fire too has always been a portal for transformation. Across the continent and in the diaspora, fire rituals have been used to release, to purify, to honor the ancestors, and to begin again. Whether it is the Dagara fire rituals of West Africa, Yoruba offerings to Shango, or the everyday practice of writing burdens on paper and burning them in Black diasporic communities—fire is a teacher. Fire reminds us that release is sacred.
In my own life, December has become a time to light a candle, write down what I cannot take with me, and burn the paper in a small bowl. The ritual helps my spirit cross the threshold lighter, steadier, open.
As you close this year and prepare for the next, I invite you to ask:
What weight am I ready to set down?
What practices of release can my community or organization embrace?
What new possibility might enter if we make space for it?
Crossing into a new year is not just about beginnings—it is about release.
So may this December be a month of unclenching. I read a social media post that said, “Unclench your jaw. May you walk through the doorway carrying only what nourishes life, wholeness, and becoming.
Unclench your jaw.
Release.