This is how I like to think about the beginning of a new year: it`s like waking up in a land covered by fresh fallen snow. It is very quiet. The earth is untouched, clean and beautiful.

– View from Ittoqqortoormiit,  New Year`s Day –

I don´t exactly know where and when I´ll leave my footprints in the fresh snow of the new year, or when they will be wiped out again. But for now, everything seems possible.

Daylight is coming. The Creator is calling me to step outside and explore new areas of life and land, yet unknown to me.

He also challenges me to break a new trail to places and people I`ve visited before, to places I belong, and people I love.

It was on my way to church in the morning of New Year`s Day, those thoughts came to my mind. A clear, cold and very silent morning. After a night accompanied by a lot of noise, the silence and the approaching daylight felt so different and refreshing.

At New Year`s Eve, since we have “our own”  time zone in Ittoqqortoormiit, there is a tradition of 3 (!) New Year`s fireworks – at 22.00 (for Denmark), at midnight (for Ittoqqortoormiit) and at 02.00 (for West Greenland).

It wasn`t silent any more when I walked by my dogs on my way home from church 🙂 I believe they too wanted to wish me a Happy New Year, all at once …

We still haven`t got any sea-ice in Ittoqqortoormiit. The days after january 1st weren`t that silent and cold any more, but rather warm and windy. On january 6th, much celebrated in Greenland, even the church service in the afternoon got cancelled because of stormy weather.

It has been snowing A LOT. A walrus and a polar bear were shot by local hunters, supplying quite a few of us with tasty, fresh meat. I`ve been out skiing and dog sledding. Each day there`s a little more daylight, and in just about a week we`ll see the sun again!

By now we`ve all begun to leave our first marks upon the new year. Days are going by and everyday life feels familiar once again. It is easy to slip into last years routine.

But we do have a choice about how and where we break our trail through the new year, and where we want it to end. We also have a choice about what kind of marks we want to leave in other people’s life, by the way we relate to them on our journey.

I don`t know your hopes and dreams for the future, but I hope you`ll keep on breaking trail to reach them! When the snow is hard-packed, it`s possible to cover great distances with little effort on a single day. When the snow is deep and soft it can seem impossible to get anywhere. Sometimes we need to take time to rest and to reconsider our plans.

Happy Trailbreaking 🙂 !