Happy New Year! This post has not been easy to write. I started it just prior to New Year's Day. It should have taken me a couple of hours to write. However, I went back to my last year's New Year's post and oh no. I realized that there was so much there that I did not accomplish and so much that I did not even remember that I had written.
So, I have been thinking....I am not making any resolutions this year. Well, maybe one thing.
One Little Word
Last year, I read One Word That Will Change Your Life by Jon Gordon, Dan Britton, and Jimmy Page (Wiley, 2013).
I had seen a lot of people talking about their One Little Word, and I was wondering what it was all about. I decided to pick a word. I, then, shared the book with a close friend and we picked words, and on & off we checked in with each other. My one little word last year was MEANINGFUL. Though I wasn't certain that it was the right word, it was the one that seemed to strike me emotionally.
As I looked back over the year, I am not certain how much I saw change as a result of my one little word, but I did put in motion a few things. I started making some changes to my living space to make it more a place that I felt good about and to reflect the me I wanted to be.
I, also, decided to adopt two little fur babies.
Watson and Holmes at 6 months
I named them Holmes and Watson and they have been a source of a lot of fun and entertainment the last five months and in their own way they have brought a new and different kind of meaning to my life.
Oh course, there are days like today when they managed to find and open up a bag of dried lentils all over the bedroom and hallway. Fortunately, they are so cute that I will keep them.
This year, as I have seem everyone's posts about their One Little Words, I wondered if I would do it again. This time, a word kept coming to me.
Mindful image made with the notegraphy app.
Mindful. Mindful of the choices I make or choose not to make. Mindful of how I interact with others. Mindful of how I speak. Mindful of special, small moments in the day. So, let's see how it goes.
As I was talking about my one little word with my friend who did it with me last year, she mentioned a TED TALK that she had just watched.
TED TALK: Phil Hansen: Embrace the Shake
There are so many powerful ideas in this presentation by Phil Hansen, but maybe the end is what I really needed to hear.
"Limitations may be the most unlikely of places to harness creativity, but perhaps one of the best ways to get ourselves out of ruts, rethink categories and challenge accepted norms. And instead of telling each other to seize the day, maybe we can remind ourselves every day to seize the limitation."
Sometimes, I believe I have fallen into a rut and I need to rethink some things. Sometimes, I look at limitations and feel defeated rather than how a limitation can open the door for a new opportunity. I need to think more about this one, but I sense there is something here for me to learn.
Finally, I am not certain about what I would like to see happen on my blog. However, I know that I will be thinking about what I am doing and whether I should continue it or do something different. I want my blog to have meaning and to be fun.
As for my reading, I am not setting any reading goals this year. I will continue to use GoodReads to track what I read because it is a great way to share book lists with teachers and parents and to remember what I read. I love reading and I know I will read, and isn't that the important thing in the end?!
Wishing you a Happy New Year and may the year bring wonderful surprises and journeys and may will all embrace our limitations in order to discover new things.