CHOOSING TO LIVE WITH DELIGHT
At the beginning of January, I chose "Delight" as my Word of the Year and it's been such a good way to remind myself to look for all those happy little moments that fill my days - moments that I often take for granted. I love that I'm living the life that "past me" would be so happy to see, and I feel like I owe it to her to live with gratitude every day.
So how has living with delight played out over my year?
HOW DELIGHTFUL LIVING PLAYED OUT
I live a very small and simple life by choice. I don't want to "live big" and I don't want to be competing or comparing with others. Sometimes it feels like that quote:
The days are long but the years are short
The days slide slowly by and one day tends to merge into the next. When I decided to write a blog post at the end of each month where I'd share three delights, I wondered if it'd be easy or if I'd struggle to find something to include. As each month drew to a close, it was such a pleasant task to look back and find a few small joys to share - and I never struggled to come up with my trio of delights. Life may be quiet, but there's always something to be grateful for if I look for it.
UNDERSTANDING THAT WE FIND WHAT WE LOOK FOR
In my January post I shared the Yellow Car/Baader-Meinhof Phenomen where you notice more occurances when you're looking for them....The frequency illusion (also known as the Baader–Meinhof phenomenon) is a cognitive bias in which a person notices a specific concept, word, or product more frequently after recently becoming aware of it.
via Wikipedia
I certainly noticed this come into play as I sought to look for little delights - I'd be thinking to myself - "don't forget you need three delights to share by the end of the month..." and before I knew it, there's be three (or more) just waiting for me to notice them and to call them what they were - delightful.
LIFE'S NOT ALWAYS SUNSHINE - BUT THERE'S ALWAYS GLIMMERS
One thing I really do want to emphasise is that life isn't perfect - there are always going to be times of disappointment, sadness, irritation, upset, and upheaval. Nobody is guaranteed a free ride, but we can make room for good things, we can choose where we direct our focus, and what attitude we take in response to those ups and downs.
The Yellow Car theory works for me in choosing what to notice - if I get caught up in looking at the weeds in life I miss the flowers, if I look at the blue cars, I miss the yellow ones....I don't want to become a grumpy old woman who only sees the grays in life - so I seek out those small moments of joy and delight and hold them close to my heart - they more than balance out the down times. That's why I loved the quote I've shared all this year in my sidebar - "Live imperfectly with great delight" - it's all about accepting the imperfection of life and still choosing to be content and grateful.
INTO ANOTHER YEAR AND ANOTHER WOTY
I'm already mulling over my next Word of the Year for 2026. I find it inspires me to launch into another year of blogging because I'm eager to explore whatever theme comes to mind. I'm hopeless at making and keeping resolutions, but I find inspiration and delight (yep there's that word again) when the right Word finds its way into my thoughts.
I think I have my Word - but that's been known to change at the last minute, so we'll see....
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Do you choose a Word each year? How's your Word been going if you do, and if not, what do you use to inspire yourself as each new year dawns?
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