Burning the Old Year | NAOMI SHIHAB NYE
Letters swallow themselves in seconds.
Notes friends tied to the doorknob,
transparent scarlet paper,
sizzle like moth wings,
marry the air.
So much of any year is flammable,
lists of vegetables, partial poems.
Orange swirling flame of days,
so little is a stone.
Where there was something and suddenly isn’t,
an absence shouts, celebrates, leaves a space.
I begin again with the smallest numbers.
Quick dance, shuffle of losses and leaves,
only the things I didn’t do
crackle after the blazing dies.
Word of the Year 2018
BLOOM
Every year for the last few years I have chosen ONE WORD to theme, drive, inspire, motivate, guide my next year. I have come to truly cherish this year-end ritual. This time around it has been particularly poignant as I reflect back not only my last year but my last decade as well. 2018 is a special year for me personally. It is a year of new pages, new beginnings, and introduces a new decade of birthdays for me. It is going to be a year of changes, small and large.
I look back on the last 10 years and I find I am grateful. That may be an odd phrase and to be honest it wasn’t the first phrase that came to mind. Other preferred phrases would have not been good in polite company.
But I am grateful in spite of. I am grateful to have got to this point, to have survived. I am grateful that the many trials and heartaches have strengthened my core. I am grateful for the people I love in my life. I am grateful for sifting through the sands of betrayal and misery and finding true veins of gold. I am grateful for my body even if at most times during the last decade I have experienced the most upheaval in terms of my physical health. I am grateful for treasured life friendships that have nurtured and comforted me. I am grateful for friends that are family. I am grateful for new friendships that have cheered me. I am grateful for the relationships that have come and gone. I am grateful for the lessons. So yes, in spite of this being the most difficult decade of my life in all aspects, in spite of it starting in heartache and broken promises and ending in heart-shaking grief, in spite of all of this I am grateful. I am grateful because I came through. I am grateful because I am here. I am grateful because the greatest lesson that this last decade has taught me is that life is rich in complexity, living is messy, chaotic and beautiful, surviving is our strongest instinct and that both our joys and our sorrows stretch our hearts and strengthen our cores.
But in 2018 I want to BLOOM. I believe there is a season for everything. The last decade has been a season of growing. I want this next decade to be a season of BLOOMING.
2018 Core Desired Feelings
What are Core Desired Feelings?
I’ve been subscribed to Danielle LaPorte’s newsletters and enjoyed her website for a couple of years now. This year I decided to dig deep into her book and/or goal setting planning system: The Desire Map.
“The Desire Map…
Knowing how you actually want to feel is the most potent form of clarity that you can have. Generating those feelings is the most powerfully creative thing you can do with your life.
What if, first, we got clear on how we actually wanted to feel in our life, and then we laid out our intentions? What if your most desired feelings consciously informed how you plan your day, your year, your career, your holidays — your life?
You know what will happen with that kind of inner clarity and outer action? You’ll feel the way you want to feel more often than not. Decisions will be easier to make: You’ll know what to say no to and what to say hell-yes to. You’ll be more optimistic, more open-hearted. It will be easier for you to return to your center in the midst of a challenge.”
~ Danielle LaPorte
Danielle also created a planner, available in both weekly or daily. So this year I decided to treat myself to this Planner. My main planners are still my Hobonichi’s. But The Desire Map Planner (Daily) is my intentions and self-care Planner/Journal. This year is a banner year for me in many ways but I wanted to make sure I was taking care of me, not just my tasks or schedule, but actually blocking off time for me to do things that feed my soul, fill my heart, energise my body and refill my well of creativity. So this Planner is the place I block off time for activities that don’t have to be ticked off but more for experiences that make each day feel a little better. I love the idea of setting down on paper how I want to feel this year. So the Core Desired Feelings just zings for me and for the intentional year I want to live this year.
These are my ‘Favourite Things’
Oral B Pro 3000 Electric Toothbrush
UE Boom2 Bluetooth/Wireless Speaker
Nanami Seven Seas Crossfield Notebook (A5)
Hobonichi Mega Weeks (Cheque Book Size)
Tell me, What will be your One Word theme for 2018?
Tell me, what will 2018 bring you: Questions or Answers?
Kim Koning 