When I begin to think about the new year, words start finding me. This year I spent January trying on each word as it came to mind, sometimes for two or three days. The word for the year has to sit with me for a bit in a variety of circumstances. Once I commit, the word is with me for the whole year.
As 2020 started I knew I was teaching for the month of January. I planned to catch up with myself in February. The grandkids near Boston were on the calendar for the first full weekend in March. Then I was going to see what teaching gigs were open for the last few months of the school year.
The word that kept coming to mind didn't seem like my kind of word at first, but I've learned to let words float and show me what they have to offer. I imagine the word rotating in space so I can see it from every angle and consider how many different ways it might fit in my life. I got comfortable with this particular word, mostly because it opened up many possibilities by virtue of the open ended nature of the word itself.
As the weeks passed and life drastically changed due to the pandemic, this word was true to itself. It offered possibilities I wouldn't have considered in ordinary times, ways to look at life if I took the word to heart.
My word for 2020 is create. When it first showed up I thought it had to do with sewing and baking and making meals, all things I intended to get more inventive with and challenge myself to stretch. Ken and I planned road trips to places familiar and new. We had projects lined up to do with all the kids and ideas for how to entertain grandkids.
Then the word "isolation" became part of my vocabulary. Since March 9 I have left the house only for groceries, gas, and to transport my granddaughter who lives locally. I didn't give up on my word but sat with it to see how it would fit... and it expanded to address every aspect of this new circumstance ~ as in create pockets of time, create spaces to dream, create positives about the situation, and create ways to stay connected across the miles. So far, so good.
The journey continues....
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2 comments:
I’m very happy to see you blogging once more. I don’t blog myself but I do read the same half dozen most days and I gain knowledge and great comfort from doing so. Yours was one of those blogs; I left it up on my side bar for when you felt it was right to return - welcome back. x
Good to see you back to posting and reflecting. I agree this isolation is a good time for evaluating what’s important and how to move forward being a better person. I am finding the time as a positive to grow and learn more. Looking forward you hearing more from you as we journey through this period of time. Stay well.
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