CHOOSING A WORD OF THE YEAR FOR 2023
Life is a journey of discovery isn't it? We spend the first half trying to
figure out who we are - taking onboard so many labels from other people -
daughter, wife, mother, career woman, student, friend....and the list goes
on. Then adding labels of our own as we try to fit into what we think life
should look like and how we think we should respond. Some of those labels
fit comfortably, and others.... well, they just need to be discarded because
they've been outgrown or never really suited us in the first place.....they've just weighed us down.
Late last year I wrote about how my 50's were the years where I finally
took stock of all those labels and began the process of peeling them off to
see what was underneath - it was
my decade of unraveling and unbecoming...
SEVERAL LABELS I DISCARDED IN MY UNRAVELING
BUT WHAT COMES AFTER THE UNRAVELING?
This is where an interesting twist in my thinking took place a few weeks
ago.... I was going to say that after the unraveling comes a time of
leaping into new and different challenges - I had a #WOTY all ready to go
that covered this idea of growth and becoming "more me"......but then I
had a last minute little epiphany on my way home from a very restful few
days' holiday in December. I realized that I was coming out of a tough year and maybe
I wasn't quite ready yet for this next big phase of recreating myself.
It occured to me that last year was a time of living with
constant grinding pain
that stopped me doing most of my usual pastimes.
It limited me, drained me, and took away a large chunk of my day to day life.....until I
was fortunate enough get an earlier surgery date to have
my hip replaced
in October. Then there's been the slow process of recovery and the pain
associated with getting mobile again.
I was feeling weary and I just wasn't ready to burst
out into something big and new. My original idea wasn't enthusing me at
all as a #WOTY should. I realized I needed more time to rebuild my energy and to decide what really resonates with me when I think about the year (and decade)
ahead.
LEARNING TO LIVE LIGHTLY
The Word of the Year that came to me during that epiphany actually became
two words, so I'm cheating a little and claiming
LIVE LIGHTLY
as my #WOTY for 2023. I want this year to be a time of recovering myself;
being kind to myself; building myself back up again; not pressuring myself
to be too much too soon; taking the time to step lightly and discover what
feels right for the rest of my 60's. It's not about losing physical weight (although a kilo or two would be a bonus), it's about losing what weighs me down and feels constrictive. It's about a year of feeling free to go with the flow - to feel light, to choose light, and to bring light to others.
This is the last decade of Midlife and I want it to be a gentle one, a
time of replacing the old "fictitious" parts of me that no longer fit comfortably with
new traits that feel like putting on a new, soft, perfectly fitting garment that
moves with me through whatever life brings my way. I don't want to force
the process, I want to step gently into this more 'real' version of me,
and I think that begins with Living Lightly.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Have you chosen a Word of the Year for 2023? I'd love you to share it
in the comments. Does Living Lightly resonate with you in the same way
it does with me? I feel that words like gentle, kind, calm, flow, simple, slow, lovely, acceptance, and joy will come up a lot in my posts this year as I apply my new #WOTY(s) and I hope you find them encouraging too.
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