Last year, my word for the year was actually a phrase. It was: “This is the year of doing things that don’t make sense.” This may seem silly or illogical or risky but for me it led me to do a number of things that didn’t make sense, but brought me a lot of joy.
For instance, I attended a Reiki retreat at a time of the year when I had neither the time nor the funds to attend. It was an amazing and transformative experience. I also made some of the closest friends that I’ve had in a long time. These are women who are truly my tribe. I can be 100% authentic with them. Infinite gratitude to Rachel Goldberg for coordinating the retreat and making the financial hurdle an easy one to overcome.
Two other examples from last year were: 1. I ran a 25k trail race. In some ways this made sense. I’m a dedicated runner and logged over 1,000 miles in 2018 – the same as in the previous two years. However, I was woefully undertrained for the hills and trails and risked injury. It didn’t make sense to tackle this, though this accomplishment is one of my proudest of 2018. 2. My family and I adopted a second dog. This did not make sense, however, she has lit up my life and is a joy to be around. At 9 months old, she has a lot to learn, though her exuberance is a breath of fresh air in our house.
So for 2019, when I hear that voice in my head that says, “This does not make sense.” I will continue to pause and note that: this is probably what I should be doing and I need to find a way to make it happen.
I’m also selecting a word of the year for 2019. The word is, RESPECT. I want to be aware of when I am not being respected and when I’m not respecting myself. I want to be aware of respecting others and making sure that aligns with a respectful state for all — keeping respect in balance. For instance, a week ago, someone was asking me to provide some information that I preferred to keep confidential. He insisted and so did I. Later when I reflected on the interaction I saw this as an instance where this person was not respecting my boundaries. In order to uphold my word for the year, I will continue to stand my ground in situations like this and demand respect for what I want and what I need as a strong individual.
Other ways that respect will manifest itself is in realizing some long-term resolutions that I’ve ignored in previous years. For instance, I’ve wanted to write more and start my book project. I will do that in 2019. Also, I want to teach Reiki classes to larger groups of people in order to spread its goodness into this world. I’d also like to enhance my foreign language skills, take on a physical challenge, and travel, travel, travel.
What’s your word or phrase for the year? Please share it in the comments!
Wishing you abundant love and light in 2019 and always!