Word of the Year
Have you chosen a word of the year? I’ve been hearing and seeing it all over the place, and it keeps catching me by surprise. Because I tend to think of myself as a fairly educated and well-read woman, and until recently I’d never heard anything about choosing a word of the year. But apparently the word of the year is the NEW, New Year’s resolution.
And I’ve got to say that I’m loving it… I’ve never been real big on New Year’s resolutions. So back to my question: have you chosen your word? I’ve been thinking about it for days actually.
“Grace” was an obvious contender. But I decided that since it’s already so much a part of my life and where I “land” so often, it was probably better to choose something else. I also batted around the words “up” and “illuminate” for a few days, since both are positive words that resonate pretty deeply with me.
But then it came to me. I found the one word I knew had the potential to inspire me and create intention in my life, all year long.
My word for 2012, is SHINE.
Last summer I posted the lyrics to a song by Shawn Mullins that I have loved ever since I first heard them years ago:
“we’re born to shimmer, we’re born to shine
we’re born to radiate
we’re born to live, we’re born to love
we’re born to never hate”
As I look at all that’s going on in the world, I want to be sure to shimmer and shine. Not in the sense that I want all eyes focused on me… That’s not “me” at all.
Among other things, “shine” means “to give forth or glow with light; shed or cast light; to be bright with reflected light; glisten, sparkle”. And so I want to shine light into the lives of others. I want to be intentional about giving of myself. Love more, give more, open myself up more, forgive more, show more grace, be more adventurous, be kinder. In other words, I want to be full of light. Sparkle. Glisten. Radiate.
SHINE!
Care to share your word? I’d love to know what it is–whether you’ve written a blog post about it or not. Just leave a comment below this post. Thanks, and Happy 2012!
Loved this post. My word is REFLECT….
Thanks for stopping by and commenting!! What a great word! Reflection is so important.
Have a fantastic day; I’m heading over to your blog now to read around. 🙂
~m
You know that I simply adore your word, being the root of “shinies” and all!! 🙂
My word is “faith”. There are many reasons in my life, right now, that make this the word that I need to focus on, continuously.
Funny thing… When I have “faith”, I know that I will “shine”!
Don’t you know it’s the root of “shinies”!!!
Seriously though, I don’t think I even made the connection. Unless this Stella & Dot-shiny-selling gal chose the word on a sub-conscious level. Let’s just assume that’s the case. 🙂
LOVE that you chose “faith”, Carol! And you’re right: you will definitely shine when faith is your focus. Although, you already do shine!
Awww….thanks!!
My word is Hope. Nice post.
Thanks so much for stopping by and for your comment.
“Hope” is a fantastic word! I’ll be heading over to your blog soon to do some reading.
Thanks again and have a good one.
~m
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