one word {january twenty-two}

It’s time for our first One Word Check-in of 2022!

If you wrote a post for this month’s link-up, I invite you to join the party, share in Comments below, or reflect on your own–whatever works for you. I’m just glad you’re here! 

Welcome.

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It’s been a funny month around here. Not funny-ha-ha, which would have been nice. Funny as in a bit of a challenge…calling on patience + trust…but finally, finally ending with clarity. Which I’ll share more about, in time.

And that’s made it feel like a long one! (Is it possible we just wrapped up holidays?!)

I usually hit the ground running, come New Year’s. This year, though, we had kids home on break longer than usual, so we kept our tree up, continued with lights, and music, opened a final (small) gift on Epiphany.

While it was nice to stretch out the season, I’ll admit it makes for a slow start to the year!

And a slow start for My One Word. Which–I think–isn’t so bad.

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I gave myself January to loosely engage…with Engage. Let it settle. Jot down some thoughts and start on my mind map–gradually. I played around with my January prompt, hovered in a few particular places. I’ll share three of them here today–

one : : vulnerable spots.

Considering ‘vulnerable spots’–or pitfalls–always proves a valuable practice in January. Where could I get stuck with this One Word? What challenges come along with Engage? Where might my tendencies get in the way?

It struck me while on retreat last November–well before I’d even glimpsed Engage–that I tend to stay near the surface sometimes…just dip my toe…go through the motions.

I have a tendency to check the box.

Not always. But often enough. Even with Very Big Things.

I’m far less concerned with dissecting the why and am just glad to have the awareness here. Because I couldn’t agree with Adriene more–here’s what she said on Day 20 of Move: A Yoga Journey:

Just the awareness of something can inspire a meaningful change.

Adriene Mishler

Yes! Yes! Yes! And I think if that’s all one does with a word, awareness can be enough.

One reason I chose Engage ’22 was to go beyond my status quo. Get lost in something / someone / somewhere. Not as a means of mastery, but to fully experience what I undertake. Versus…

And while I’m still only ‘loosely engaging’ with My One Word ’22, just being aware is packing a punch: I’m reading and exercising with different intentions (and delightfully different outcomes!); I finally examined my uneven knit tension; and, a little less fun…when it comes to hard conversation, I notice when I lose objectivity.

Easing into My One Word this way…with awareness…feels like ‘gentle nudging.’ It’s an approach I can appreciate.

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two : : a book list.

Some years, a book list rocks my word. (This book in 2019 did that!) Other years, not so much. (Last year? Zilch.)

This year, a few that have been on my radar a while reinforce the crux of Engage: How do I want to ‘be’ in this season? Notice what’s meaningful to me right now. Dig in to curiosity. Joy.

: : I just finished Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s Encyclopedia… (Loved it.) (Of course.) It’s one I’d put off for a very long time because her story’s a hard one. While this book is not about that–it was published a decade before her diagnosis–in so many ways, it’s a love story to the ordinary she would prematurely miss out on. It’s a love song to living the life you have.

: : A reread of Four Thousand Weeks is on the list; the first time around, I listened on Audible. I want to revisit, on paper, all those sections I bookmarked.

: : Has anyone read Beginners: The Joy + Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning? Curious. I’d love to hear.

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three : : another benefit of taking it slow…

…it’s made space for former words to drop in. Linger. Reunite. And that feels like a good way to transition. (Curate ’21 and Authentic ’15 are hanging around with Engage, I’ve noticed.) And something about that feels ‘big picture’ to me. Lends a wider scope to the practice than just a word for the year. Y’know what I’m trying to say?

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And there’s still a week left! Let’s see what the rest of January brings.

I invite you to check in, chime in, link up, connect…! The party will be open ’til Sunday.