Some people can confidently declare their Word for the Year as if they were tapped on the knee with a little hammer and their foot popped up with a word on it. Not me. I narrowed my list of dozens down to 3 words and then tried each one on for a day or two. Unleash was a bit flashy for me. Freedom fit like an over-sized purse packed with personal responsibility…that I felt obligated to make happen. I know that God does the better job of making things happen; best to leave that to him. Release, however, seems like cozy pjs, the kind I like to wear well into the afternoon. Did you just notice what I just noticed? I almost missed it—my releasing responsibility for an outcome—all while I’m in my pjs at noon. That’s a sign of a good word…when you “get to” instead of “have to”.
Release, for me, is about letting go of stuff that keeps me from seeing something even better. Believe me, I could slap together a list of things I’d prefer to release but then that would soon become my Burdensome List of All Things Wrong with Me. Oh yehhh, I see it again…releasing the need to create a list that could turn into have to’s. This pick a word thing is good for me…because I’m more inclined to notice when release kicks in than when it doesn’t. I think they call this positive affirmation for toddlers. And who knows what other good releases, like maybe creative spontaneity, will follow on the heels of letting go of some have to’s and should’s.
I like that idea… “getting to” verses “having to.”
Hmmm, we’ll see if I can get there with my word. Most people would love to “get to” be at peace, and be peaceful, and calm, and at peace with others… it’s still a challenge for me. I find myself “having to” find time to be at peace.
Like I said… something to work on 🙂
Hi Julie,
My word is “simplify.” I’ve come to a point in my life that I am truly thinking about what I have, what I do, what I want, what I need and as you stated, releasing the burden of others and their desires/demands. Now I just wonder why there is so much work to simplifying?
Hi Julie,
Hmmm i think my word is still “syrup.” Because life can be sticky but it’s still sweet 😉 Believe me, i have been thru some really really sticky times, as well as some really really sweet times, and now i have come to a point in my life where i ask myself, “Should i take on my future sticky times with a couple of flapjacks and piece of toast? Or should i just let them build up into a super sticky mass of goo thats left to harden as they have done in the past?”
Syrup, for me, is a word that really describes two common aspects of my life and offers me a way to challenge those “sticky times” by taking on them on with the sweet things in life!