Tag: OneWord365

2019 | Seeking White Space

Kim Koning, Life

Welcome 2019

Every year for the past few years, I have not made any New Year Resolutions but instead I have focused my year around One Word. This One Word has themed my year, moulded my intentions and focused my goals. Some years I stuck to just One Word. Some years I chose separate Words for separate areas of my life. In 2018, I chose One Word but then chose a few more words called Core Desired Feelings (CDFs). These CDFs helped round out and expand my One Word. I truly loved this method of setting Intentions for the year ahead so this year I am keeping this method of Intention Setting for 2019.

Keep on reading!

Begin again with the smallest numbers

Kim Koning, Life

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.

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Capsized | Writing through the Fog, Emerging from under the Wave

Kim Koning, Life, News, On My Desk, Poetry

The Uses of Sorrow | Mary Oliver

(In my sleep I dreamed this poem)

Someone I loved once gave me

a box full of darkness.

It took me years to understand

that this, too, was a gift.

 

…And today I felt like I was drowning in this ocean wave of grief and pain and lostness. I felt overwhelmed and raw with too many emotions trying to come out all at once…Then I knew I needed to quiet the ocean of noise in my brain. The only way I know how to do this is to Write! So here I have been writing in this journal on and off all afternoon/night. I don’t think the noise in my brain has died down yet. But it feels cathartic to see my thoughts and feelings in black permanent ink on a white page…-I need my poems to truly expel all this grey emotion. I’ve been purposely staying away from working on my poetry because I don’t want to actually face all these emotions. But I know I’m drowning beneath all my emotions/thoughts…the only way I know to come up and out from under all of this is through my poetry. It is my own life-raft. I need to get back in my life-raft… | excerpted from my journal ~ Greece, September 2016

“From the Sea” [Image by Bojan Jevtić]**
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#HappyNewYear 2016 RISE up to Your Dreams | It’s f%#!ing worth it! #OneWord365 #ResolutionRevolution

Kim Koning

What’s your  #2016 #OneWord365 #WordOfTheYear ?

Every year for the past 4 years I have chosen my One #WordOfTheYear.

I don’t do resolutions because quite simply there are too many things I want to resolve to do, too many places I want to resolve to see, too many people I want to resolve to meet or spend more time with and too many goals I want to resolve to achieve.

The resolution list would be Long.

So…

This.

This is my 5th year running that I have opted to go with a #PowerWord. [5 means lucky for me.]

This is the #OneWord366 [This year is a leap year! It means 1 whole 24 hours extra to #GetSh!tDone !] I choose to FOCUS on to power my intentions and motivate me. It is the #ResolutionsRevolution. It kicks ass and takes no excuses. No more lists of not done by the end of your first month. 

This year my word is a word I have waited to choose.

It leads on beautifully from my #2015 Word: Push.

 
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(P)ersist (U)ntil (S)omething (H)appens #OneWord365 2015

Ink Slaying, Kim Koning

2014 has ended…It was the year of hard lessons for me.

Every year I pick a word for the year. My personal life word this year is: metanoia.

But my working writing word for the year is: PUSH

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push
pʊʃ/
verb
verb: push; 3rd person present: pushes; past tense: pushed; past participle: pushed; gerund or present participle: pushing

Origin

Middle English (as a verb):
from Old French pousser,
from Latin pulsare ‘to push, beat, pulse’ (see pulse1).
The early sense was ‘exert force on’, giving rise later to ‘make a strenuous effort, endeavour’.

1.
exert force on (someone or something) in order to move them away from oneself.
“she pushed her glass towards him”
synonyms: shove, thrust, propel, impel; More
antonyms: pull
hold and exert force on (something) so as to cause it to move in front of one.
“a woman was pushing a pram”
move one’s body or a part of it into a specified position with effort.
“she pushed her hands into her pockets”
press (a part of a machine or other device).
“the lift boy pushed the button for the twentieth floor”
synonyms: press (down), push down, depress, exert pressure on, bear down on, hold down, squeeze; More
cause to reach a particular level or state.
“competition in the retail sector will push down prices”
2.
move forward by using force to pass people or cause them to move aside.
“she pushed her way through the crowded streets”
synonyms: force (one’s way), shove, thrust, squeeze, jostle, elbow, shoulder; More
(of an army) advance over territory.
“the guerrillas have pushed south to within 100 miles of the capital”
exert oneself to attain something or surpass others.
“I was pushing hard until about 10 laps from the finish”
informal
be nearly (a particular age or amount).
“she must be pushing forty, but she’s still a good looker”
3.
compel or urge (someone) to do something, especially to work hard.
“she believed he was pushing their daughter too hard”
synonyms: urge, press, pressure, put pressure on, pressurize, force, drive, impel, coerce, nag; More
demand persistently.
“the council continued to push for the better management of water resources”
synonyms: demand, insist on, clamour for, ask/call for, request, press for, campaign for, work for, lobby for, speak for, drum up support for, sponsor, urge, promote, advocate, recommend, champion, espouse
“the trade unions will be likely to push for wage increases”
informal
have very little of something, especially time.
“I’m a bit pushed for time at the moment”
informal
find it difficult to achieve something.
“he will be pushed to retain the title as his form this season has been below par”

Last year was a year that upended my efforts and really put a giant PAUSE sign in my way. From about midway thorough the year I was struggling in an unbeatable fight with sapping energy levels, lack of concentration, and chronic, mind-sapping insomnia. Initially I put this down to my migraines which had also ratcheted up to unacceptable levels. But eventually something told me this was something more than just effect of my migraines.
I felt burnt out and almost extinguished. I thought maybe I needed a holiday. I had not had a holiday for 3 years. It pushed me to take a 5 day writing retreat, at a secluded little beach cottage, for a week in November with one of my close writing friends.

Lesson #1 Don’t feel guilty about taking a break, having a time-out. Go away somewhere if you can. De-stress, actively relax and unplug.

I still felt listless when I got back from my retreat. But wait, there’s more

2012 ~ I CHOOSE to DANCE for JOY…What do you choose for 2012?

Blogging, Full Time, Goals, Inspiration, Kim Koning

For the last 2 years I have made a resolution not to make new year’s resolutions that I would end up breaking…

But…

Instead I find a New Word of the Year that I set about to define my year…

Elizabeth is living her lifelong dream –adventuring in Italy, India and Bali.  As the scene opens, she is engaged in a conversation with her Italian friend, Giulio:  “Giulio asked me what I thought of Rome.  I told him I really loved the place, of course, but somehow knew it was not my city, not where I’d end up living for the rest of my life.  There was something about Rome that didn’t belong to me, and I couldn’t quite figure out what it was…”  “Giulio said, ‘Maybe you and Rome just have different words.’  “What do you mean?”  Then he went on to explain, that every city has a single word that defines it, that identifies most people who live there…”  “Giulio asked, ‘What’s the word in New York City?’  I thought about this for a moment, then decided.  “It’s a verb, of course.  I think it’s ACHIEVE.  (Which is subtly but significantly different from the word in LA which is also a verb:  SUCCEED.  ….”  Giulio asked, ‘What’s your word?’ “ – Eat,Pray,Love > Elizabeth Gilbert

So here I am…third year into the Word Resolution and welcoming 2012…

So if you battle to keep New Year’s Resolutions…

Try to focus in on one word that you want to define your year in 2012…

What’s your Word?

These were my words for the last 2 years…

My word of 2011

My word of 2010 was Renew

So…What’s the next word?

Click on Joy to find out why Joy is a Choice…

In 2012 I CHOOSE to DANCE for JOY

Dancing for Joy ~ Dance when you’re broken open… Dance when you’re perfectly free. Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding. -Rumi, trans. by Coleman Barks
Wishing you a Year of Joy in 2012!
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What’s your Word?

Kim Koning, Notes on Wrestling The Muse
Eat, Pray, Love
Image via Wikipedia

I have three books that have inspired me and that I keep coming back to for rejuvenation. My favourite of these is the one that resonates with me and with who I am: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Elizabeth shares a myriad of ideas, epiphanies and inspirations that she stumbles across in a year-long journey of self-discovery and healing. 

Yesterday I revisited one of these ideas/epiphanies:

Elizabeth is living her lifelong dream –adventuring in Italy, India and Bali.  As the scene opens, she is engaged in a conversation with her Italian friend, Giulio:  “Giulio asked me what I thought of Rome.  I told him I really loved the place, of course, but somehow knew it was not my city, not where I’d end up living for the rest of my life.  There was something about Rome that didn’t belong to me, and I couldn’t quite figure out what it was…”  “Giulio said, ‘Maybe you and Rome just have different words.’  “What do you mean?”  Then he went on to explain, that every city has a single word that defines it, that identifies most people who live there…”  “Giulio asked, ‘What’s the word in New York City?’  I thought about this for a moment, then decided.  “It’s a verb, of course.  I think it’s ACHIEVE.  (Which is subtly but significantly different from the word in LA which is also a verb:  SUCCEED.  ….”  Giulio asked, ‘What’s your word?’ ” 

This may sound simple to define but it can be a revealing eye-opener and what you may answer with may just take you by surprise. So how do you find “Your One Word”? How do you sum up yourself in just one word? Does that word change?

Sometimes the answer may come to you immediately. But sometimes you have to let the idea germinate and grow in your heart before you can see the Word. 

I think that Giulio, Elizabeth’s friend, is right. I think everyone does have one word that defines who they are. I also think that you can have growing words as you change and grow in life: these changing words are defined by your experiences and your emotions. 

In the movie version of this book, Elizabeth’s initial answer is: Daughter, Wife, Mother and finally Writer. However her friend argues that this is not “her”, this is who she is to others and it is what she does. 

When I first read this book, I could not find my Word. But this weekend has been a weekend of epiphanies. Now, I have finally found my word.

My word is: Seek.

Your Word may be a noun or a verb. It is not an adjective because that describes you not defines you. But when you find Your Word it can open up a doorway of possibility. So often in life, we want to find out all the answers and understand all the questions but do we pay as much attention to ourselves as we do to the external and the material. Do you really know yourself?

Another way you could view this idea is to ask the people closest to you what one word they would use to define you: not an adjective to describe you but a noun or verb to define you. I can guarantee that the word that they will come up with will differ from Your Own Word. Why? We all wear different faces in our lives and two different people in our lives will have two different versions of ourselves that we allow them to see.

So….What’s Your Word? 

Sit with this idea for a while and see what you come up with. It may come to you immediately or it may take time but eventually you will find Your Word. If you know your word, write it down. So, tell me what’s Your Word? 

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2011 Goal~Project365/2011 The creative me is taking priority over practical me

Inspiration, Kim Koning, Notes on Wrestling The Muse, Postaday / Postaweek 2011

This week has been a week of reflection. It is the first week of the New year of the New decade. This is a time when most people look behind them at the past and resolve to make things better and newer in the New Year. I am one of those millions of people who have been going through New Year reflections. I have had a few A-Ha moments that I would like to share with you in this post.

A few months ago I wrote a post called: Joy is a Choice. It was an A-Ha moment that I had during one of my early morning Soul Photographs (Morning Pages). Joy is not a state of being and it is not a given. But Joy is a Choice. There is not much in life that we can choose to avoid or choose to manifest, most of life happens by happenstance or circumstance and how we react to those times.

But Joy is more than an emotion.

Happiness is an emotion.

Joy is an attitude.

The French have the best phrase for this:

Joie de Vivre

The Italian phrase that corresponds to this is:

La Bella Vita

This year my 2011 Word of the year is Possibility. I have also decided to focus more on the creative me and less time on the practical me. I have decided that life should not be a case of “Live to work” but rather a case of “Work to live”. I am going to make this a year of  Joie de Vivre and Life is going to be La Bella Vita.

How?

I am going to be branching out more creatively speaking and better my current creative crafts (whether that be in writing, photography) and opening myself out to the Possibility of other creative pathways. I am signing up for classes at a local Arts Centre from February. The classes that I have my eye on now are Painting (with a specialization of Surrealism) and Glass-Blowing.

I am also going to take part in something called Project 365. This is a project run by an extraordinary group of women who call themselves The Shutter Sisters. This is a project where you take a picture a day and then post it to the Website’s Flickr page called Shutter Sisters 365. The idea behind the project is exactly the same idea to what I had when I wrote Joy is a Choice. It is to capture a moment that inspires Joy in you through the lens of a camera. The ladies on Shutter Sisters put it in a sentence that really resonates with me this year:

“This was all about moment, right? Staying in the moment has a way of dissipating negativities even though we catch them in freeze frame with our cameras. When you sit with sadness or anger you are in control of ushering it out. When you sit with joy and love you are empowered and radiate it back to others. Photography has this magic to it as well. No one else has your eyes. No one sees the world exactly as you do. That is a beautiful thing!”

– Meredith Winn (04/01/11)

So I have signed up to be a part of this Vision. I have always loved photography even before I studied it both in School and afterwards. I remember my first two photographs that really made me fall in love with viewing the world through the eye of a camera lens. I was about 11 years old and I was on holiday at the beach staying with my great-aunt. One day we went down to the pier. It was a stormy grey day and because of the impending storm, the beach and pier was empty. I took a couple of photographs on a simple 35mm point and shoot (this was in the days before digital) of the ocean being sheltered by a stormy sky. When I got home from my holiday I was excited to have my 35mm roll of film developed. The photos that I had taken that day on the beach were exquisite. They showed the impending power of the storm and gave a real emotion to the shots. I realised then that photography is a powerful tool in life. From that moment I was in love with shooting the world. Nature scenes are my favourite in particular beach shots and sky / storm shots are still my favourite. So this year I am going to post a picture a day that inspires me. I will post it on the Flickr site but will also be posting it via my new Tumblr account.

This year is going to be a year where I saturate my soul in creative pursuits. I am truly Joyful when I am doing something creative. That is my joy: Creativity,Passion, Travel and Change. It is going to be a year of POSSIBILITY and a year where I make the Choice to be Joyful and to have JOY.

What are you going to do that inspires you this year?

What new creative pathways will you pursue this year?

Share your creative aspirations here in the comments so that we can support and encourage each other.

Make this your year when the Creative You takes priority over the Practical You. Do what you love to do and what gives you joy.

I leave you with this quote which is on my 2011 vision board:

today is your day

to dance lightly with life,

sing wild songs of adventure,

soar your spirit,

unfurl your joy.

-Jonathan Lockwood Huie –



© All Rights Reserved Kim Koning.

My 2011 Word of Resolve

Kim Koning, Notes on Wrestling The Muse
Big Possibilities

A few days ago I wrote about the idea of choosing a word for the New Year instead of making resolutions. I also put through a link to Christine Kane’s Word of the Year Discovery worksheet and gave you all the questions on the worksheet. As promised, I have chosen my word for 2011 and as it is 1/1/11 I am telling you about it.

So this year I am not making any New Year’s Resolutions, instead I am choosing a Word of Resolve.

My 2011 Word of Resolve is:

POSSIBILITY

along with the phrase, Live.Laugh.Love.

  • This is the perfect word for me this year because sometimes I allow my realistic nature to limit my own possibilities whether it be in my life, love or my writing.
  • I believe that if I embrace and live this word daily in 2011, I will be kinder to myself. I will send the internal editor into retirement and I will resolve to open myself to Possibility .. to it’s magic and to it’s serendipity. I will not be my own critic but instead become my own fan.
  • I already live this word in my optimism and energy but I do need to allow myself to dream more … to wonder what could be and to be open to all possibilities forgetting the improbablities my analytical nature wants to list.
  • I believe that if I were to live this word daily, I would infuse my life with joy and confidence. This will come through in stronger,free writing. If I live this word daily I will be living from the heart instead of the brain. The possibilities are endless for what I will attract and what I can create.
  • My default settings that I need to let go of is the constant striving for perfection. Instead I will open myself to my inhibitions and allow myself both the possibility that I might fail but I might just as likely succeed.
  • Three things that could trigger me to run from my Word of Resolve are: self-criticism, perfectionism, hating to lose or be second best.
  • The ways I resolve to stop these triggers are: talking to my friends who believe in me, taking a look at my vision board to refocus POSSIBILITY which is the key theme, getting up and going out for walk along the beach.
  • Five goals I would like to achieve based on POSSIBILITY are:
  • 1. Allow the possibility of happiness and fulfillment in all areas of my life because I deserve happiness.
  • 2. Submit an anthology of my poetry for publication.
  • 3. Submit my WIP to an agent.
  • 4. Explore new places and new adventures.
  • 5. Open myself to creative expression, not just related to writing.
  • I have 2 major homerun goals in mind but I am keeping them to myself for now.

So that is my Word of Resolve for 2011.

POSSIBILITY

These are some of the affirmations I will use to keep focused this year:

“Dwell in Possibility” ~ Emily Dickonson

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” – Phillipians 4vs13

“With people this is impossible, but with God ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.” ~ Matthew 19vs26

“The POSSIBILITIES are endless once we decide to act and not react.” ~ George Bernard Shaw

“Stop thinking in limitations and start thinking in POSSIBILITIES.”   ~ Terry Josephson

“We have more POSSIBILITIES available in each moment than we realise.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

“In dreams and in love there are no impossibilities.” ~ Janos Arany

“Our aspirations are our POSSIBILITIES.” ~ Samuel Johnson

“Man is so made that when anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish.” ~ Jean de La Fontaine

“Dreams come true, without that POSSIBILITY, nature would not incite us to have them.” ~ John Updike

“Everyday holds the POSSIBILITY of a miracle.” ~ Elizabeth David

“Aim for the moon….if you miss you are only going to fall amongst the stars.” – Jason Napier (my friend and inspiration)


So that is my Word of Resolve for this new year, the first of a new decade. What is your word of resolve? How are you going to let it infuse your intentions and increase your awareness?

Choose your word and really LIVE it, BE it, ACT it…

The year ahead is just beginning and there is a wealth of New Beginnings. The old has faded away and with it put away any regrets.

It is never to late to start anew. Live your year Being You.

I wish you success and happiness in this coming year and strive for the moon….if you miss you will still end up amongst the stars…

Felicitations and Celebrations for New Year 2011!

(Published in She Writes Editors’ Picks 05/01/11)

© All rights reserved Kim Koning.

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Live.Laugh.Love

Inspiration, Kim Koning, Notes on Wrestling The Muse
live. love. laugh.
Image by magerleagues via Flickr

We are in the middle of the silly season and the year is coming to an end. You have been filling your thoughts with your loved ones and wondering what would be the perfect gift to show them how precious they are to you. Christmas is a time of family and friends, a time of love and laughter and more importantly it is a time for living. It is also a time of memories: making them and remembering them. It is a time of year when bygones and regrets are put aside and we just take the time to give of ourselves to those we love, whether that be in presents under the Christmas tree or the precious gift of your time spent with those you love and cherish.

Soon after Christmas it is time for the year to end and for a new year and fresh beginnings to start. It is a time of resolutions and goal settings. It is a time when the mistakes you have made in the year or the paths you missed are put into retrospect and you have new paths before you. For many it can be a time of cross-roads.

For me, 2010 has had its ups and downs. Much of the time it has felt like a year-long roller coaster ride. But like every roller coaster ride at the fairground, the ride must come to an end and you must get off the roller coaster. That time is almost upon us all.

What does 2011 hold for us? What new paths and new adventures will be shown? What goals will light our way? I have been giving this a lot of thought this month. However, being a writer, unless I put what I am thinking into words the thoughts can remain just those … thoughts. Instead I want to make my thoughts about this concrete and breathe life into them. So this brings me to this post.

I am subscribed to a blog of Christine Kane. I receive regular newsletters and posts from this blog and this creative artist and singer never fails to inspire me. The latest one I received this week came with a pdf worksheet. The topic is: Word of the Year. In this worksheet, Christine shares something she was inspired to do annually at this time of the year by a friend of her’s and that was to find a word or words to theme your New Year. So instead of making New Year’s resolutions which never seem to last past January, you choose a word, words or a phrase to guide you down your paths for that year. She tells you to consider 3 elements before you choose your word or your phrase for the year.

  • Authenticity – choose a word that is Authentically YOU
  • Awareness – be Aware of your Intention to first choose, then live your word
  • Clarity – be Clear about the What (your word) and the Why (your motivation)

So, taking the inspiration from Christine Kane I am going to set you all a challenge find Your Word or Phrase for 2010. Write it down in your journal or cut out letters and put it on your cork-board above your desk. Once you have chosen this word:

  1. Think about why this is the Perfect Word for you this coming year.
  2. If you embraced and lived this word daily through 2011, what would be different in your life?
  3. In what way do you already/would you like to live or embody this Word?
  4. In what ways do you not live or embody this word?
  5. If you intentionally used this word as your mantra and focus every day of the year, what energy would you attract or create?
  6. What old patterns or beliefs have kept you from living this word until now?
  7. List at least 3 things that trigger you to run away from this word – be specific.
  8. List at least 5 possible “Pattern Interrupt” habits you can practise to counter your triggers in #7.
  9. List at least 5 new Proactive habits to support your intention to live this word and to inhibit the triggers that may hold you back.
  10. List 5 goals – big or small – that you would like to accomplish this year in 2011. These goals must be based or rooted in the word/phrase you choose.
  11. What is your Home Run? The Big Dream for 2011 that is motivated by your word.
  12. Seal your intention: Call a trusted friend and tell them about Your Word. (Or if you are brave enough, write a blog post about Your Word/Phrase of 2011.)

My Words of 2011 are:

  • LIVE
  • LAUGH
  • LOVE

I am going to take the next week to decide the How’s of these words for my life, my creativity and my goals in 2011 and I will be back to blog about them for the New Year post.

Until then, I wish you all a peaceful Christmas season filled with precious memories and moments punctuated with love, laughter and blessings of abundance.

God Bless.


© All rights reserved Kim Koning.

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