Under the Crooked Tree, Embers Turn Into Butterflies

How are you getting into the holiday spirit?
Or rather… how are you taking care of your sanity during the holiday madness?

A recent impulse purchase at Trader Joe’s—one holiday greens bunch—turned into two impromptu ikebanas around the house, and one very questionable “spa shower” installation.

I repurposed the fir leftovers instead of eucalyptus, hoping to make the shower smell like… I don’t know what I was thinking… under a Christmas tree in the rain?

Anyway, don’t try this at home if you don’t like pine needles all over your shower.

End of the Year Threshold

The end of the year always feels like an important threshold. It’s an invitation to take stock and look at how we’ve been directing our energy and attention. This brings clarity to what we want to carry forward and what we’re ready to let go of.

I want to share that we are closing Inward VR, a mindfulness technology startup my co-founder and I launched in 2023, with the mission of making meditation and mental wellness more accessible.

It’s not easy. It’s bittersweet. It’s tender. And it has been an incredible ride.

This illustration is from a hand-drawn sketchbook by the gifted artist Kashi Inanna. Evocative, isn’t it? I can still drop into a meditative mindset just by looking at it. It’s part of the storyboard for an uncreated VR experience, “Feel Love,” that we didn’t get to build.

At least not yet.

And I still hope to do that someday.

It feels like how this chapter ends… and how the next one begins.

Although we didn’t achieve product-market fit with the resources we had, we created something meaningful. People were genuinely interested to experience adaptive meditation technology guided by body signals. We met talented, thoughtful, forward-thinking people who deeply care about better ways to manage stress and well-being.

One of my biggest lessons from the startup journey:

As you build something—whether it’s a startup, a book, a new career, or a new chapter—what you build is also building you.

That’s something worth celebrating and carrying forward.

Which brings me to one of my favorite holiday traditions.

The Crooked Christmas Tree

The iconic crooked Christmas tree is up in the sand in Ocean Beach. I love how there’s always something “wrong” with it (in the best possible way.)

Its imperfection is so liberating—that’s the spirit! A festive rebellion against what the perfect tree should look like.

If there’s one thing I hope you take away from this for the holidays,

Let it be the Crooked Tree.

Photo via Ocean Beach Community Foundation

We all approach the holidays in our own way. Some of us crave rest, others want to go all out with festivities, well deserved after a long year. Some enjoy going on shopping sprees, while others love getting away for the holidays, and some of us prefer staying local and slowing down.

Cheers to making the holidays your own and bringing all your butterflies into the New Year!

Yours,
Ollie, Founder of Meditate Mate

Holiday Wellness Quiz

Take the short quiz below to discover your holiday personality type and your holiday wellness strategy that you can use to protect your energy, rest, and joy this season.