One (little) Word: Joy

Despite wanting a quieter holiday season this year, we have still managed to get swept up in the whirlwind that is this time of year.  We’ve bounced from holiday concerts to holiday recitals, to holiday parties.  There have been dinners and brunches.  And of course, there’s been lots of shopping.  And with all that’s been going on, there simply hasn’t been time for much writing, cooking (at least not any new blog-worthy recipes), or much time at all to just be.

During my training session today, as the Coach and I were discussing my training schedule, the concept of just waiting it out the end of the month, keeping things simple, and just working on building strength came up; with the underlying idea that come January, a period of more intensive training would get underway.

After my workout, as I ate my lunch and got caught up on emails and a few blogs, I came across a few other interesting concepts.  The first was an Elephant Journal piece about the Winter Solstice from an astrological point of view.  What struck me in this piece was all the questions the author poses to help the reader plan for the new year ahead.  The second came via Ali Edwards and the kick off for her 2016 One Little Word workshop; it was an encouragement to start thinking about choosing a word to guide you through the next year.

And then I got thinking . . . the next few weeks are an absolute gift.  I will have time to sit, to just be, and to plan on what I want for the year ahead.  I don’t have to have all the answers right now . . . like in the gym, I can wait out the next little bit, keep things simple, and work on building on the strengths I have developed this year.  When I have larger blocks of quiet time, I can look to answering some of the questions posed in the Elephant Journal article; I can start to think about what I want to focus on, where I want to take my life, and what means I want to get there.

And then the concept of One Little Word entered this thought process.  I want this coming year, more than any other year, to follow through with the concept of One Little Word.  And while my outlook on life, and what I have been espousing on the blog has been all about “happy” . . . . more than anything for next year, I want more than just happy . . . I want to choose “JOY”.

(PS . . . the site where I got the above image from is pretty neat!  The DIY Mommy)