There are many in the art journaling community who choose a word for themselves at the beginning of each year. I heard about first on Ali Edwards' blog and I've heard it mentioned by several other artists in the art journaling world since then.
Ali's idea is that we should each choose a word that "sums up what we want for ourselves" for the year. She says "It can be something tangible or intangible. It could be a thought or a feeling or an emotion. It can be singular or plural. The key is to find something that has personal meaning for you. This is not your mother’s word or your spouse’s word or your child’s word – this is YOUR word. One little word can have big meaning in your life if you allow yourself to be open to the possibilities. And here’s one thing that is totally interesting: sometimes a word will pop into your brain and it will not make any sense to you right now. Give it some time. Let it percolate a bit. I have often found that our hearts speak to us in very unique ways. Maybe this is a word you need to hear but just aren’t ready for it yet. Again, be open to the possibilities."
In 2010, she described it this way: "Essentially the idea is to choose a word (or let it choose you) that has the potential to make an impact on your life. Maybe you want to invite something or maybe you are hoping to subtract something. Maybe your word will be practical or hopeful or creative or fanciful. Maybe you need a big word, something in-your-face that will challenge you everyday. Maybe you need something smaller and quieter that will whisper gentle tidings as you make your way throughout the year. Whatever word you end up with, make sure it is your word (not your sister’s, mom’s, partner’s, child’s, etc). You can share it publicly or keep it close to your heart."
Ali's word for 2013 is "open" and when I read her blog post about it last week, I thought I'd like that word too. I also considered her word from 2006, which was "play", that seemed a good choice to me as well. But it seemed a bit of a cop out to just take on a word that someone else had chosen, I figured I needed to come up with my own word and that maybe if I let the idea of finding a word percolate in my psyche for a while, my word would come to me.
Tonight as I was driving home, the word "trust" came into my mind and I thought, right, there's my word.
Ironically, my initial reaction was that I wouldn't blog about it, I would keep my word to myself! Ha! How's that for trusting?! But then I thought, hey, part of the trusting process is about putting things out there, sharing your inner thoughts with others. Which doesn't mean that I have to share every detail of my private thoughts but I can choose to share some of them. For example, I'm not ready to explain all of the reasons why that word has meaning for me right now and that's okay, but I can tell you some of the reasons why I like this choice, which can be summed up with the following statements:
Trust yourself.
Trust your instincts.
Learn to trust the process.
Trust that we are where we are meant to be, right at this moment.
Que sera sera (what will be, will be).
I'd love to hear your word for 2013 - if you have chosen one and would like to share it, please leave a comment on this post.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
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1 comment:
Good word choice, Cynthia! I didn't have a word but after reading your post, I challenged myself to come up with one. It had to be a word I really liked to say and one that brings a happy image to mind everytime I say it. A recent book I read asked how we wanted to feel and reading that lead me to the word "unfurled".
Definition: Make or become spread out from a rolled or folded state, esp. in order to be open to the wind: "a man unfurled a sail"
So I want to feel unfurled in my creative, physical and spiritual endeavours in 2013.
Thank you for inspiring me to choose a word!
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