Every Saturday, join me as I CELEBRATE This Week
with Ruth Ayres from Discover. Play. Build.
As far as I remember, my first one little word was in 2013 and I picked the word simplify. There was a lot going on in my life and I felt scattered, stretched in too many directions. I wanted the year to be about figuring out what I most desperately wanted to be doing and simplifying parts of my life so I could really focus on what mattered most - my family, my health, reading, and writing.
In 2014 I chose patience as my word, realizing there were so many goals I had for myself and so many things I wanted to get done and knowing that I had to chill out and be patient. After I picked the word, I heard from a friend that there's a saying that if you ask to be patient, God will sure give you something to be patient about.
When 2015 came around, I was working in a pretty stressful job dealing with lots of different people all the time. Let me tell you, when you are in heated discussions, it's not always easy to stay cool but staying cool and being able to talk through things is super important. So grace was a perfect word. Here's a funny story about what I learned about grace. Little did I know, that the idea of giving myself some grace would also play a factor. I have a print-out from Ruth's blog that says in loud, bold letters, "I am enough." Even though I had learned how to better say no to things and simplify my life a little bit, I still found giving myself some grace and adjusting my expectations was important.
2016 was about stopping to just enjoy it all and my word was revel. Revel was such a fun word. It was about enjoying the now and celebrating as much as I could soaking up everything that was my life.
And last year, after the election and my eyes were opened to how much needs attention in our world, I chose the word zealous. My husband often says I'm over-zealous, sometimes still biting off more than I can chew, but sometimes just having such super big dreams and wanting to make them happen while also thinking it's going to be easy. But last year was about being zealous, being more passionate, being more vocal, speaking up and bringing attention to things. It was a great word and one I relied on as a reminder to keep going when it felt hard.
Now, in 2018, I picked the word love. It's like taking all my words from 2013 through 2017 and rolling them up into one big giant hug. Simplify was about self-love. Patience was about love of the journey. Grace was about love for others and love for myself. Revel was about love of this glorious life. Zealous was about loving life enough to want to make a difference. And now, I'm celebrating love.
Speaking of celebrating love, I can't think of anyone who more beautifully loved life than Amy Krouse Rosenthal and here's my post from last year that celebrates her.
Love, love to you on this beautiful day.
Thank you for stopping in to celebrate with me!
Did you pick a word for the year yet?
"Love" is probably the most powerful of all the words. I like how you see all your words rolling up in a giant hug. Your past words together, led by this year's OLW, will make miracles happen.
ReplyDeleteI really enJOYed reading through the words that have been a part of your life. Wonderful comes to mind when I think of you.
ReplyDeleteAnd I so loved your post about Amy Krouse Rosenthal. It's one of my all-time favorites. I continue to turn to her books, photos and more for inspiration.
What a great history of the way one little word and another little word and another and another rolled up into this year's OLW. I'm glad you took the time to document it and gear up for a year of big LOVE.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Ruth
What a journey you shared. I know how it is to let a word that carried you through a year go. Wrapping all of those years up in the word LOVE is inspired.
ReplyDeleteYour enthusiasm always makes me smile. Love is a fantastic choice for this year. I really appreciated your post about AKR. The world is a better place because she was here.
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