One Word: Center

Wow… it feels a little strange to bring my thoughts to a page this morning. I haven’t posted since December 29th. It feels a little like opening up a storage room door and being hit with cold stale air, and as the sting of the chill washes over me I see all my thoughts packed safely away in pretty boxes all neatly packed and lined upon the shelves.  Which one do I choose to unpack?

I suppose the most fitting would be the closest one to me… we’re a week into 2013. A brand new year. I’m not really resolution maker. Instead, I tend to make goals all through out the year. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I don’t, but I always learn and set new goals based on what I’ve learned. By the end of the year I feel like I’ve lived life and perhaps even earned a little more wisdom to carry with me through the next year. But honestly, every day is new beginning isn’t it? A chance to start over or do over… or even just start.

It’s not like anything literally changes when the clocks ticks out of one year and into the next. We’re the same as we were one minute ago. But there’s something magical about that moment when the sparkly ball in the middle of New York City makes its final 10 second decent and lands right on the first second of a fresh new year. It never misses. It’s hard not to feel some sense of “new beginning.”

Several years ago my friend Ana introduced me to a concept called My One Word. Essentially you pick a word at the beginning of the year (or any time– a year is a year no matter when you start) that you want your life to embody in every day living. You use this word to inspire and guide your life for 365 days. Last year I picked fortitude. It’s a strong word that requires bravery, patience, grace, and trust (also good words to focus upon if you’re looking for a word). Fortitude was a good word for me… one that both challenged and strengthened me through out the ups and downs of 2012.

I woke up a little depressed this morning because I knew I hadn’t written anything for myself in 10 days. Life has been swirling around me the last, oh, three or four weeks. The holiday season brought both typical and new yuletide craziness as well as illness. In addition to regular family and friend demands/developments, I’ve secured a fresh load of client-projects and have mentally developed new article ideas for Pen to Paper Communications. All that to say, my mental and emotional energy is rotating around to different areas and people… leaving my own desires/needs unattended. One week into the new year and I’m exhausted.

My one word for 2013 is: center

Sexy, huh? Though simple in sound, this word has significant implications for me this year. Life as a writer mama is crazy… that’s reality. All that swirls will continue to swirl, but if I am centered then I shall remain grounded and not be swept away in life’s tornado of demands and responsibilities. Not only that, but I will be feel peace in the chaos. It’s one thing to remain steadfast, but it’s quite another to stand strong and feel peaceful.

Center requires self care. Not being self-centered. Self-care. That means:

• setting aside client feedback for a moment so I can write a blog post.
•  kissing my family goodbye on a Thursday night so I can serve others at Night Strike.
•  blocking out time on the calendar to hang with a friend–for   the mere pleasure of laughing and drinking coffee.
•  leaving the laundry pile to go get an eyebrow wax.
• putting down the novel to pick up the Bible
• starting work later on a Sunday so I can go to church
• so on and so forth

Centering is stepping out of the swirl of life and tethering to a moment of well-being. On that note– my time here is up as I hear my two young monkeys scampering down for some breakfast. Happy New Year, dear reader. May you experience peace and new beginnings  through out 2013. 🙂