A horse, a horse – my first 2026 newsletter

As I write this, 2025 is history, and 2026 lies before us. In Chinese astrology, we will soon be entering the Year of the Horse. According to Chinese tradition, the Horse symbolises energy, moving forward, independence and freedom.   The start, however, has not been all that auspicious. No, 2026 kicks off as a year where “might makes right” – even if it rarely does. Bullying is, after all, one of the nastier human characteristics.

I belong to a Western European generation that has rarely felt the chill of fear for war. Things became a bit dicier in 2014, when Russia seized Crimea, and since 2022 we live on a continent plagued by war: mighty Russia attacked Ukraine expecting an easy win. So far, not so. Instead, it is estimated well over three hundred thousand Russians have died at the front, with roughly half as many Ukrainians. Lives lost for what, exactly? To feed the megalomaniac delusions of Putin?

Since a year back, we have another megalomaniac on the rise. Yes, I know many of my subscribers do not like me to talk of politics, but how on earth can one NOT do so, when faced with what looks like a potential collapse of the world as we know it? Do Americans really want the US to go to war with Denmark over Greenland? Throw over the alliances built over the last two generations? And are Americans really OK with colonising a sovereign state like Venezuela?

Before we go any further, I think Nicolás Maduro is a stain on human history that is best erased. If the US, as a gesture of goodwill, had decided to liberate the Venezuelans of this thoroughly corrupt leader with no quid pro quo, I would be cheering madly while singing “Gloria al bravo pueblo que el yugo lanzó” (and yes, I know the Venezuelan national anthem by heart as does anyone who attended school there in the 70s) But this isn’t a gesture of goodwill. This is the US President stating that as of now, the US will take control of Venezuelan national resources. By what right, peeps?

And to really round things off, Mr Trump then threatens Colombia and Mexico—and Denmark.

Personally, I fear we will experience yet another year of aggression, of war. It scares me. It makes me worry about my children and grandchildren. It makes me wonder what I can do to stop this. I makes me remember that democracy does not survive unless we fight for it.

Democracy is a tender bloom. It depends on educated citizens, voters capable of making informed choices. How on earth do we make informed choices in a world where every single piece of information we receive must be questioned, where we are fed fake videos, fake soundbites? I believe the answer to that is to stop using social media to inform ourselves (or AI). We need to get back to reading articles—texts longer than 250 words—where we are given background and arguments. Of course such articles will be biased depending on who writes them, but if we read widely, if we step out of our echo chambers to read stuff by people we generally do not agree with, it will hopefully broaden our outlook and put us in a better position to exercise our right to vote.

My New Year’s Challenge to myself is therefore to start reading more broadly, to seek out media which does not align with my values and peruse. Not so sure how that will help with this growing fear I am experiencing, though . . .

My second challenge is to speak up. To have the courage to step in when someone bullies someone else, to express my opinions and thoughts. To have the patience to listen when people disagree, to invite to conversation rather than debate. You see, I still (naively?) believe most people are good and kind. Most people do not actively hate. Most people will try to help when they see someone in trouble. Most of us actually know that we have much, much more in common than we have differences. And we all share a planet, a fragile capsule of life we all depend on.

Enough of politics. Instead, let’s talk about winter. Up here, the best thing about January is that the year has turned, the day is now 15 minutes longer and after a few days of snowfall, even the nights are somewhat brighter.

I am no major fan of winter—but I don’t think I would appreciate spring and summer as much as I do if I didn’t have to live through these cold, dark months. Us Swedes go a bit wild and crazy at the sight of the first snowdrops, the first scilla.

Some years ago, I was out walking on a January day with a colleague from Turkey. There was a biting edge to the wind, snow crunched underfoot, but the sun was out, and when we turned a corner, my colleague came to an abrupt stand still. There, standing like silent pillars with their backs against the sun warmed wall were like twenty other people. All of them had their faces turned up towards the sun. All of them had their eyes closed—and all were smiling.
My colleague chuckled. “Every year,” he said. “Like migrating geese, these Swedes. The moment the sun shows, you’ll find them flocking to south-facing walls.”

We are not at the point where the sun is warm enough to have us flocking at walls. Instead, cold, sunny days are best put to use by enjoying a sauna. I sit in the warmth and look out at the frozen lake, happy to sink into myself as the fire crackles. Sometimes, I submerge myself in complicated plotting of a new book, but mostly, my brain goes quiet—had it not been for the enervating whispers of a new character called Timo who, it turns out, is a Finnish-born Russian prisoner of war stuck in St Petersburg in 1723. I wave him silent. Not now, Timo.
“But . . . “
Not now!

I have absolutely no desire to do the whole “right: first sauna then throw ourselves in the lake”. Uh-uh, not me. But I do like watching hubby going for it, cheering loudly as the man who holds my heart lowers himself into water with ice floating around him.
As I sit in the hot sauna insight strikes me. I, lovely peeps, am a very, very lucky woman (albeit a bit scared at present)

To end on a positive note, I hope 2026 will overcome its first few weeks and develop into a better year than the preceding one. I wish you all a great start to the Year of the Horse!

Anna

P.S. Just to clarify: I am OF COURSE fully aware that many, many Americans are just as horrified as the rest of us by Mr Trump’s actions.