It dawned on me as I posted the previous blog that I had not shared the post from my other site about my ritual of choosing a word for the year. The series I did on living joyful has no context without sharing why living joyful has so much meaning to me. Below is a reprint of my post from December 17, 2015.
We all have our rituals to bring in the New Year. Mine include choosing a word for the New Year to guide all I do and set the tone. I like making a Dream Board to create a vision for my new year. As I pondered my word for 2016, I thought back to the previous years of words and how my selections had no bearing on the actual events of the current year, but were words that seemed to resonate with my being during the preceding December. When I selected the word Grace for 2014, I had no idea of the challenges to come. But as each year began to unfold, the appropriateness of the word became quite clear:
2013- Embrace – My mother had just died, and I wanted changes in my life. I wanted to grasp all I could. I took off for new places and adventures. I even took Salsa lessons
2014 – Grace – I was diagnosed with and treated for Cancer, and had neurosurgery. Only through the infallible Grace of God did I manage both challenges within seven months.
2015 – Faith – I started the year with a loss of employment. I fell back on my faith in God to sustain and empower me through more challenges. I started building my new “new normal.”
Deciding my word is not a scientific feat. It usually comes to me as I go about my day. I find it while meditating, reading, watching TV or listening to music, my favorite past times. Last year I was sitting quietly, and my inner voice told me to have faith that God would continue to sustain my health. Little did I know that I was on the brink of a total transformation.
Once decided, I create a new Pinterest Board for the word and start collecting memes and other photos that capture the sentiment. It keeps the word alive for me during the year, reminds me where I’m at on my journey and helps me to stay true to the course. Picking a word and creating the Board provide assurance and stability to my life. It helps me make sense of things. As my life evolves, the word takes on new meaning. You can find my boards on my Pinterest site at http://www.pinterest.com/teridmc.
What rituals do you have for the New Year? Do you set annual goals? Do you create a dream Board or write a dream statement? Do you track your progress to completion? Or, are they just an exercise you complete because everyone does it?
What I know for sure: If you don’t know where you are going, you will certainly not get there!
As for my 2016 word – Joy!
Teri McClanahan 