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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You sure have had a delightful year Leanne. Thanks for sharing your word with us and showing us that life doesn't have to be lived big to be full of delight.
ReplyDeleteHi Deb - I'm so glad you get it. I think once we reel in our expectaions and start appreciating all the small blessings, we realize how delightful life really is. x
DeleteThis was a wonderful post, Leanne! I love how you’re so intentional about focusing on appreciating your life. Thanks for sharing your delights with us in 2025, I enjoyed reading them. And I’m curious to know what your word will be for 2026.
ReplyDeleteHi Sue - it's been such a delight getting to know you and to connect via our writing. It's one of the things I love most about blogging - meeting new people and feeling an immediate affinity. I think I'm sticking with the Word I have in mind for next year - I just have to refine my thoughts a bit more on it...
DeleteThank you, Leanne, for always giving us, your readers, something interesting and worthwhile to consider. In some ways, you don't live a small life. You impact anyone who reads your pages with ideas and thoughts that generate thoughtfulness, even evaluation. I know I always come away from your posts with my mind full of things to really give thought to. I don't always post; I am sometimes rushing off to do this one thing or the other. (Currently working on changing THAT!) But please know how much I look forward to my Monday Morning Leanne Channel!
ReplyDeleteOh Kristine - that just made my day! Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words - it's comments like this that keep me coming back to blogging. I love it when I connect with someone as warm and genuine as you - and to have that come back to me just makes me really happy inside. I'll keep popping over to you to be inspired by your decor and very good taste :) x
DeleteHi Leanne, your post reminded me that I did choose a word for 2025 and it was ‘creative’. The thing is I then forgot about it, but here’s the strange thing, despite forgetting my word, this year has been very creative! Maybe I knew when I thought up my WOTY what I wanted the year to look like, I don’t know. Perhaps it remained in my subconscious! I’m now thinking of my word for 2026 which I’ll write down so I see it every day to remind me. Chrissie x
ReplyDeleteHi Chrissie - I love how the Word we choose colours our year - intentionally and unintentionally. It just feels like a much more positive approach than beating myself up with resolutions that I end up not meeting. I'll be posting my 2026 Word at the beginning of January - you'll have to share yours with me in the comments. x
DeleteHi Leanne, when I chose Path as my WOTY I was expecting clarity concerning our revolving door living arrangements of the past few years. Oddly enough, paying attention to the word did bring clarity, but by closing doors, not opening them. Some of the paths we pursued led to a dead end, and we simply lost interest in pursuing others. Mindfulness kept us from making mistakes. We have no regrets at this point and count our blessings that life is peaceful and fulfilling. We now believe the right opportunity will eventually present itself. I can see how focusing on 'delight' helped you look for special moments and appreciate simple pleasures.
ReplyDeleteHi Suzanne - it's interesting that your word "Path" and the intentionality behind it ties in with the Word that's buzzing around in my head for 2026. Sometimes the Word we choose leads us in a different direction than what we expected it to (I remember choosing "Enough" several years ago and the meaning shifted for me over the year as it played out). I hope the house thing resolves happily in 2026 for you - and isn't it good that it's not a life or death issue - just something that needs to be resolved well. x
DeleteYour year of delight reminded me of the year I choose Joy as my WOTY. It was a definite "yellow car year". I know that focusing on the small glimmers has definitely helped me get through this past year. This past year I choose Patience as my WOTY, but at times it felt like endurance, and persistence, and resilience. I'm not sure my WOTY for next year ... I'll need to think on it some this month!
ReplyDeleteHi Pat - I think patience ties a lot of those words together - and also reminds us to keep a calm heart through all the ups and downs. You've done amazingly well through an extremely trying year - I hope 2026 is full of good things and boxes being ticked off left, right and centre! :)
DeleteThank you for sharing your delights all through this year. It has been inspirational and encouraging to read and be reminded of all the small important joys to recognize. Looking forward to your choice of word for this year to come.
ReplyDeleteHi Judith - it was really good for me too - keeping my eyes open for little glimmers of joy to share, and not thinking that the month had passed with nothing much happening. Life is simple and quiet, but it's always good. And yes, my next Word is perculating its way towards January... :D
DeleteI chose "mindful of my capacity" just as I was diagnosed with emotional exhaustion "because I hadn't been mindful of capacity" for some years.
ReplyDeleteYou've been very careful to keep your life manageable for you now! Well done! And thank you for sharing the "delights" each month. For the first time in a LONG time I won't be doing an intentional word of the year as I am still learning how to manage life after trauma! And whilst I will write on Substack I'm no longer linking up ... if there is still a link up to do that. I'm feeling grateful for blogging & connections made with people like you Leanne! Thank you so much. Denyse x
Hi Denyse - it's interesting how we are evolving through the ups and downs isn't it? You're right about me keeping my life manageable - I never want to go down the rabbit hole again that came from allowing someone else's demands to overwhelm my own common sense and needs. I'm very aware of what I need now to keep a calm and peaceful heart - although I have my moments regularly where that slips and has to be shored up again!
DeleteI think (as you've found) we have to acknowledge how far down we've gone before we can begin to climb back up again - and the longer the fall, the longer the recovery. You might surprise yourself with a Word appearing during the year - and if you do, I hope you'll share it with those of us who are still here hammering away on our keyboards - even without the good old link parties that used to keep us connected. x
Hi Leanne - Another year is coming to an end. As always a very inspirational post. Indeed, it's always the small things that matter. If we can find happiness in those small, everyday delights, a lot of our problems might just get resolved on their own!
ReplyDeleteRegarding topics for blog posts, instead of a WOTY, I look at either something that's weighing on my mind, or something from my travel diary, or blog hops hosted by someone.
Hi Pradeep - I stopped blog hopping and parties a couple of years ago - there didn't seem to be much that was a good fit for my writing. I'm enjoying choosing a WOTY each January to give me some inspiration, and I'm still finding things to write about after all these years - it keeps me engaged and connected. :)
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