WHAT’S IN A WORD?
Trials. Survival. Trials. Survival.
Is it my imagination, or is every year like that? Seems as if 2018 was R-O-U-G-H, but looking back and contemplating its path, one must see that it’s the power of love that really tells the story – not the grief or the hardships.
The power of love is sustaining and powering us through the best and worst of times.
Whether you were holding a loved one’s hand as they crossed over to eternity, or your hand was being held through yet another round of chemo, the love sustained us all. The love of strangers and neighbors saw us through fires, floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes.
So many are yearning for an easier, brighter, less challenging 2019; but, good or bad, I encourage us all to be the “love glue” that keeps things together.
Be that hand that reaches out to others and accept the hand that is extended to you.
Recharge your soul batteries at every turn, and reflect your values and faith by being its hands and feet.
What matters is the love. Those who have lost some or all of their possessions know that, while we mourn the loss of physical memories and treasures, we are acutely aware that that’s not what counts.
Our earthly situations radically change and we turn around to hug those left standing with us.
In one of last year’s January posts in foodtalk4you, I shared with you about finding my “Word of the Year.” Instead of a resolution that would surely drop by the wayside, I sought a word, a thought, an intention that reflected my soul’s urging for 2018.
Did you have a 2018 Word of the Year? As you look back, did it reflect your path?
Mine did. EMBRACE was 2018’s for me. I strove to embrace my circumstances with grace, my inner self with acceptance in the midst of conflicting emotions, others as they ministered to me, my life as it was, and my faith.
This year, my intention is to REACH. It’s time for me to reach out for growth, for reconnecting with friends, for physical movement, and to reach out for new goals and opportunities, and to see them through to success.
An intention that could color and shape your year’s activities seems much more fruitful than making resolutions that fade. It was amazing how often I thought about my Word of the Year as 2018 evolved and how it gently guided me through life.
You, too, may find that a Word of the Year may assist you to cope, plan, perceive your experiences with greater clarity, and may serve you on a more solid course.
Aside from just setting an intention for 2019, also consider how you are going to flesh out that intention. Maybe you seek to be more calm. How are you going to do that? How is your calm self going to react and participate in your hectic life? How are you going to walk into the room calm? How are you going to create calm around you?
As an exercise, write down your word or intention of the year and brainstorm every possible application you can imagine. How will this intention for 2019 color how you look at yourself, how you look at the world, and how your actions might be different.
Always include applying your intention to yourself. If your intention for 2019 is patience, aside from the obvious desire to display patience to others, consider how you are going to be patient with yourself. How are you going to do this for yourself as well as others?
Food for thought.
Take a few moments to consider your intention or word for the year for 2019.
You might even want to make a simple little sticky note with your word on it. Put it on the inside of the medicine cabinet or on the refrigerator as a gentle reminder. This could even become a family project. Or you can just tuck your word quietly in your heart.
Happy New Year to all. May 2019 be calmer, brighter, kinder – even if we are the only ones who are calm, bright, and kind.
Make every interaction a positive one.
Recipes for some colorful, nutritious dishes will be coming your way in the coming weeks!
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In health-
Deidre