A friend of mine chooses, or rather, allows a word to come to her each year. A word that will inspire, guide, and keep her grounded in the bigger Thing through all the seasons.
Sometimes this word comes in meditation, sometimes in a dream, sometimes while washing the dishes. She has learned to trust this voice, this guidance.
My friend has no hard line on when this word needs to arrive; sometimes it’s December, but often it’s after the hype of the New Year has passed.
My word came early. By Fall I knew that I had to put some attention on self-care. I even dedicated my Yoga for the Cure Challenge to it. With the pace of Teacher Training, the holidays, the kidney stone, it was clear that my body was asking for some TLC.
Two things strike me about inviting an idea like this into your life. One, how hard it is to change a pattern. And two, how this probably means letting things (activities, people, etc.) go rather than adding them on.
So instead of a list of “to-do’s” for the new year, I will be measuring my options against the amount of self-care they offer. There’s no failing or guilt. There is just noticing, remembering, and trusting.
What is your word this year?
Tags: change, meditation, new year, pattern, resolutions
My word is trust…trusting what my body and mind can do for me and placing my trust in what is to come in time with practice and in the future with patience.
my word would be time, not just more , but time spent with my family and loved ones, so I am going to see them more and let them know I love and need them in my life
My word is diligence. I will be diligent in making the necessary changes in my life. I will dili–gently go in the direction of a healthier me. I will eat more healthfully, exercise, meditate and take time to nurture and practice self care.
I’m so there on the self-care! Daily yoga and music and all the wacky writing to record how it all goes. So far, so good.
I’m thinking I’ll be doing some things less (screen time, working, watching TV) in order to do better self-care.
My word, or rather two words are to be. I’ve realized that trying to do something puts me on the wrong side of the equation. I am what I am and I do what I do. This seems to put me into my life rather than observing it or trying to manage who and what I am. I still do things – yoga, eating right, meditating but I’m not trying to do them any more.
Wow, what great words/intentions! Thanks for sharing!
My word is affirm…came to me kinestheticlly..when I felt around it verbally, be on your own side emerged. This has a particular meaning for me, having to do with honoring my own senses, my own mind, and the value of my own particularity. I’ve found it quite a bit trickier than it might seem to negotiate commensual reality and hold my own…not dissipate those nascent stirrings that are going to put me at odds with the prevailing view. Yet I have found time and again the most painful mistakes are when I recognize after the fact that I have acted against my own intuition in order to belong. So a firm…a firmament…finding my drishti and experiencing its hold for me…this is what I feel bubbling up as the daffodils begin to sprout.
beautiful, stunning. thanks, carol!
I like this idea. My word is “verge.” I will be changing my whole lifestyle this year as I retire from a profession I love. I thought about “end” but didn’t like it. Then I heard a phrase with the word “verge” in it and thought “that’s it.” I am on the verge of something and though I don’t know what, the word fits. It even sounds like my name. Thanks for the fun idea.
My word would be awareness. For me it encompasses mind, body and spirit. On the Oprah show she mentioned taking a moment each day to ask yourself “How does my body feel? (body), How does my heart feel ? (spirit) and Stop and practice being in the moment (mind) Take a deep breath, just be. Lovely idea