Dear WhelmILY 31.12
Three, Two, One... Happy New Year
(I don’t know where I’m going with this, or what I’m gonna name this post yet, all I know is I want to make a list.)
Welcome to the end, let’s get ourselves prepared for the new beginning.
I always feel a bit weird at the end of a year. My anxiety keeps on telling me there’s something I still need to do, places I still need to see before the year ends. This year, I’m making a very conscious effort to remind myself multiple times a day that I have nothing left on my to-do list for the year.
Well, I still want to finish this blog, that’s the final thing on my 2025 To-do list.
(And now I’m trying to finish it ASAP cos the crew arrived and I want this to be klaar so I can kuier. Sorry guys, my brain won’t let me chill.)
*And I wanted to paint my Bubble. DONE!
3. Amber said I haven’t written a poem in a while.
She prompted me with a word, ‘Festival’. We’re going to Little Forest Festival for NYE, so this is perfect. I’ll sommer schedule this post for 31.12.2025 23:59… SAST XD
[I don’t think the formatting will work on a mobile device, sorry…]
아 little
본 Forest
티 A.Bon.Ti
let's go
Let'ssss Go
LEEEET's GOOOOO!!
do you want to come with us?
Into the Forest
Op 'n A Von Tuur
Over and Over we BONsbonSBoNs
Onder die Invloed?
Through Overs- and Unders- we Create
ubu
whelm
can you see the fairies?
they came to greet you
to guide you
follow them
where's 빨리 빨리
she gone
now she
was just whelm
here i saw socks
she isheadingthis
way how
was (WOW) your
journey traveler?
are you
whelm?
come
there's someone I want you to meet
why don't you go on an adventure
and get to know her
you never lost her
you just did
the best you could (she came to visit often)
with the information you had
and you learned your lessons
now it's time
to become
Her.
2. Number two on the list, is a list.
All the things I want to do daily in 2026.
I’m making a list of 10 things and then attaching them to 10 body parts so that I can check up on myself every day to make sure I do it. It’s a Memory Palace technique.
jump
Every morning when I get out of bed, there’s a couple of exercises I do that help to wake up the lymbic system. Jumps, Qi Gong swings, breathing and stuff. Preferably with the sunrise, but that’s not a requirement… I’m pretty bad at getting out of bed in the morning hehe…
Jumps attached to my feet. Pretty easy, and I already have a habit of doing it so I’m sure I won’t forget. Well, if I do I can just come back to this list now. Hey, Future Lani. whelm.
meditate
Even if it’s just 5 minutes before I go to bed, I really want to focus on practicing this year. I have spent hours thinking of ways to be better at meditating, instead of just fricken meditating. The last few days have been easier, my mental health has been better than it’s been for months.
Remembering to meditate by visualizing my shins growing roots like a tree into the Earth to ground myself. Standing with my palms facing up, arms next to my sides because the posture is great.
floss
I’ve been flossing almost every day for the majority of the last 6 months! But I must also add here - I fucking hate it. It still hurts my gums sometimes, and I somehow always slide open the corners of my mouth with the stupid floss and that hurts like a mofo. The mirror is always dirty from spit splats and that grosses me out. It takes a long time. But I’m doing it.
UPDATE: Justin gave me those floss stokkies and I am CONVERTED. I’m leaving the previous paragraph there so you can see the difference! I’m actually not dreading flossing anymore, that was a life-changing floss! It cleans so much better, doesn’t hurt as much, AND there’s less spit splat!
Attaching to my knees because I do squats every morning when I brush my teeth… Just imagining I’m holding floss with my knees and flossing a giant tooth.
art
Art is going on my quads. Easy one, I can just imagine I’m making Squig글s all over my thighs.
What art I’m creating is going to be different every day… But I’ve decided 2026 is the year of Lani the Artist (Navona, I’ll explain later), so art will be arted no matter how artsy. Today’s project is my hoop, Bubble.
UPDATE: We finished the hoop today! I painted much faster than expected and it looks AMAZING! Everyone made a little mark on it as well, it’s soooo special!!
dance
Well that’s pretty easy to attach to my butt. Top tip for those who think they can’t dance - write your name with your butt… In cursive.
Anywhelm. I have been having a great time with the Hula-hoop and will be moving a lot with it in 2026. I’ve always loved to dance, and having a prop is super fun! Many updates to come~
clean
putting ‘clean’ on my tummy - there’s an old Afrikaans saying “jy kan dit maar op jou maag skryf” that means you can just accept it won’t happen. So I’m gonna imagine cleaning whatever is written on my tummy at least once a day. RW is the best house-mate though, he keeps a damn clean house. However, I always feel better after cleaning something - no matter how small. So even if I just wash one tea cup or pack my clothes away, or maybe spring clean the whole stoep - either way, cleaning is part of the 2026 checklist.
journal
Over the last 4 months, I have filled up an entire 2025 A4 size diary. I have really enjoyed getting my thoughts out on paper, because it forces me to sometimes slow down and really sit in a thought. It has helped me process this magical chaotic beautiful life in many ways. I haven’t gone and read a lot of what I’ve written, it will be quite interesting to read them one day.
It’s going on my chest - an easy one as well, because I know I need to get something off my chest every single day.
pull-ups
It’s been one of my goals for the longest time that I want to do a pull-up. One single unassisted pull-up. I think if I add this to something I practice every single day, I should definitely be able to do one by the end of the year. Actually, let me add a reward to this one. Don’t know what yet, but the faster I do it the better the reward will be. Maybe an international trip if I do it halfway through the year? Anywhelm. Attached to arms, so easy to remember as well. This is gonna be an easy list.
fungi
okay so I can go on for many paragraphs about mushrooms so I’ll try to keep it short. I want to consume even more mushrooms in 2026 - at least one type every day but the more the merrier. I also recently finally got some lion’s mane powder, all those type of medicinal shrooms will be more consumed. And of course, I’m very excited for a psilocybin journey after my year of sobriety concludes. I’ll plan a beautiful ceremony.
POES baie mushrooms
Since this is the only consumption one, that works out well to have it attached to the throat. Noice.
I know that’s the wrong bullet, but it had to be done to have the other part as a heading. Sorry.
whimsy
I have all the systems in place to take care of my mind and body and keep it healthy in a scientifical way: I eat healthy, I exercise, I have a support system, I keep my brain engaged. However, there’s that little spark of magick that one needs to make it just that little bit more whimsical… Maybe look at old photos, maybe hug a tree (though I usually do that after my morning jumps), masturbate, sing a little song, give a beggar a lucky-packet, listen to a feel-good song.
This one i’m attaching to my crown. Every day I want to what is best for the future, better, Higher version of my Self.
1. 2026 will be the Rebirth of Navona
She’s been waiting.
Navona.
I always knew she would come back one day.
5 years later
I’ve been training myself my whole life for this year. I just didn’t know it.
The signs were there. They always are.
And just as I was about to cut her off.
A fucking random lifeline. a Squig글
For the first time, I understand the language that can’t be spoken.
It’s ready to be discovered.
29.12.25.19.13
I snuck away from the Ubuwhelm crew to come and solo whelm a bit for the sunset. I like trance, but dayum. These people live and breathe trance. I don’t think I’ve ever listened to one genre as much as I have this year.
I’m a bietjie gatvol now ngl.
Honestly at the festi I’m gonna be chilling the fuck out. I’ll dance, but I’m gonna whelm at the tent all the time, just chat to strangers. I already have a headache blooming, and I do NOT like not being at 100% ready-to-go all the time.
As I was saying, I’m sitting on a boomstomp watching the sunset now. It’s so whelmy. There’s some vehicle and machine noises far away, but mostly I can hear so many different birds. There’s barely any wind so the trees are quiet…
I don’t want this post to end up in the draft graveyard… I write something, overthink, write more, delete, write more, don’t delete, tell myself I’m gonna come back and edit later, procrastinate, Ctrl+A Delete.
Rinse and Repeat.
However, I do want to finish this at least to a degree where I’m not entirely embarrassed by the quality of my ramblings.
While I go back and focus on that, let me just say:
Happy fucking new year
I whelm you.
Thank you for reading my blogs. Whenever. If you’re here and it’s about 00:05ish on Jan 1st SAST, You’re the MVP. I appreciate you.
2025 was a tough damn year for many people. I feel like everyone I talk to feels like they haven’t had a proper grip on a year for the past 6-7 years. No different for Yours Truly.
But you know what, I worked damn hard this year to be more ready for 2026 than I was for 2025.
For example, I only decided on the afternoon of 30 Dec 2024 what I was going to do for NYE. I bought tickets to Little Forest back in September (I think) already. I wanted more stability in 2025, and I created it. Some in very strange ways haha…
I hope that you have so many wonderful things coming your way in 2026.
Like don’t fool yourself and think life’s gonna be perfect - it never is, it can’t be. But accept that difficult days are coming, and just be prepared for them. Have your support system in place, practice your systems consistently.
And choose your own overwhelm in 2026. It will balance out on its own, but if you write your own script, then the scales will tip in your favour even when they are balanced. (does that make sense?)
I should go edit.
(note - it’s 23:19 on the 30th. I edited a little bit and added some photos. it is what it are now)
Have an epic time. I can’t wait to see what the next 365 days has to offer us <3
Aww I miss you Lani-larns.. loved this blog and loved the poem so special