One Little Word

So Ali has this thing that she's done for a few years.. where she takes one word and has it be the focus of her year. Last year she focused on peace, and the year before it was play. The goal is to incorporate your word into your every day living....let it guide you and be the focus of what you want for the year. During the past two years I have given this some thought, but this is the year that I'm ready to have my own word. I gave it a lot of thought before I decided on my word. What did I want from this year coming up? Where am I going with my life, and what can I do to improve myself and my sittuation? What was it I really wanted to focus on? I toyed with several different words before I settled on *THE* word:

Pause. (n) a temporary stop. a rest. a lull. a moment to reflect. to wait. to wonder. to be.


If I have learned nothing over the past two years, it's that I need to slow down. I need to take more time to rest. To slow down, and just be. To fight against the urge to always be doing, and going and getting done. There is always going to be stuff needing to be done. There isn't always going to be time to just do.. whatever. I am learning, slowly, that I need to take advantage of those opportunities. Grab them when they come along, or make time for them if they don't.

As 2007 came to a close, I thought back about all the things that had happened.. the places we had been, the projects we finished... etc. etc. But what stuck out in my mind were the things I didn't do. I didn't spend enough time out in my yard this summer. I can count on two hands how many times I sat out on my bench and watched the birds, or enjoyed the gardens. I realized I need to get a nice comfy table/chair set for my backyard so I can spend time outside reading, or knitting, or drawing. It's hard to enjoy yourself on hard uncomfortable chairs. I didn't go to the lake once all summer. (not counting our vacation). We never spent the day at the beach. We didn't take our "light drive" this holiday and drive around and check out people's lights. We didn't read our holiday books each night in December. This past year was busy, and hectic, and stressful and sad and ... CRAZY. I wasn't sad to see it end.

I want more from 2008. I know already that it's going to be busy and hectic and crazy (hopefully not as sad as last year)... but that's OK. I plan to work hard at bringing calmness and relaxation and enjoyment into that mix. To laugh. To rest. To be. To pause.


"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterwards." Spanish Proverb