Week three of the first month of the year.
How’s that resolution going?
Back at the beginning of the month I shared (Word of the Year) that I was not making a resolution for 2014. Instead I chose to find a word, and make it the focus of every area of my life. This word would act like a blanket, a covering over every part of my life, my being.
I had been inspired by something I had read by Arianne Segerman called Gratitude is the Catalyst. The one word she had chosen was intention, and she was writing about her word of the year in November, reflecting back on how that one word had affected her year. I was inspired to do the same!
I thought this was a novel and unique way to approach the New Year … I had no idea what a movement this one word concept is, and how widely it is practiced. Just type in ‘one word’ or ‘word of the year’ in your search bar, and you will be amazed at the number of sites that are dedicated to this concept. If I had a dime for every blog I have read, every Facebook link I have noted, every new book I have seen, I would be booking a trip south … okay probably only to Seattle, but it’s still south!
There are two common threads in what everyone is saying about this one word concept that are common.
- one word can cover all facets of our lives … it is bigger than a promise about health, habits, etc.
- one word is like a presence … it has ability to ‘stay’ with us throughout the weeks and months and not get forgotten
As I contemplated my one word for 2014, I also knew that I am not one to be ‘gung ho’ about much of anything in the month of January. It is dark, wet, gray and depressing in the Pacific Northwest … a reality that I find difficult to make me want to get out of bed, let alone feel inspired to start anything new. So my word had to be one that I could … ruminate over, as the new year got underway, while I work up the energy to actually apply it to my days.
b a l a n c e
My one word was chosen just over a week before Christmas Day. The ‘to do’ list was longer than the hours (or money) in that day, I had bitten off at least one head of a loved one, and my get-up-and-go had left without me. It was then that I uttered under my breath,
all I want for Christmas is some measure of balance in my life.
There it was … the thing I needed most, the thing that could encapsulate every part of my life from time, to money, to energy, to health of my physical, mental, emotional and spiritual being. My word for 2014 is
b a l a n c e
I seek balance … not perfect balance, but better balance in my year, my weeks, my days, my moments. I am determined … I am resolute to seek balance.
And, what will assist my memory, which frequently fails when I walk from one room, with a reason, to another, having already forgotten the reason?
Psalm 121
“I lift up my eyes to the hills– where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip– he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you– the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” Psalm 121
itsawonderfilledlife 