I awoke this morning to the first rays of what promised to be an absolutely gorgeous sunrise. The sky was awash in the most glorious shades of pinks that were so stunning I had no choice but to throw on some clothes so I could get outside and take a photo of it.
Not long after, I found myself at the gym, where, from the vantage point on my treadmill, was treated to the most glorious, half hour-long sun rise I have ever witnessed. There is something so visually amazing about the sun rising through the clouds against a backdrop of clear blue skies on a cold winter morning.
As my workout ended, I was silently thankful for the beautiful start to my day – not just because I was treated to such beauty, but also because the word I have chosen to live with this year is “Light”, and it seemed like a good omen of sorts to start of this year of light, with a brilliant display of nature’s most perfect light show.
Late last summer, I stumbled on the Simplified Planner by Emily Ley. I fell in love with it as it helped me to organize my week, plan out how I wanted to accomplish my goals for the week, and of course, because it is the prettiest planner I have ever seen. (For those of you who live in Canada, like me, try ordering yours from Indigo, not from the Emily Ley site – you’ll save a lot on duties that way). But I digress. As images for the Simplified Planner started popping up on my social media feeds, a kind of companion product, produced by Lara Casey, called PowerSheets kept popping up too. I got curious . . . curious enough a few weeks ago, to order my own copy of the 2107 PowerSheets.
Over the past few days, as the kids have been involved in playing with their new Christmas toys and building lego, I’ve been able to sit down and work through the goal setting portion of the PowerSheets book. I’ve said before that I don’t like setting goals – I have a tendency to chase them down with an intensity that doesn’t do good things for anyone, or, I simply get overwhelmed by the goals I’ve set and abandon them before they’ve been met.
But working through this book is not about setting goals for the sake of setting goals – it’s about setting “goals with intention” and then providing a framework for working towards those goals, little by little, month by month. You are also encouraged to choose a word of the year, in order to help guide you with your goals.
Which brings me back to my word of the year. I loved the process of the One Little Word workshop and I loved working with the word Joy last year. It brought me a lot of . . . well . . . joy. But as this year is a year of self-declare new beginnings, I wanted a word that would serve as a touchstone for how I wanted to feel, to be, to live my life. I was mulling a few different word choices, but as I worked through my PowerSheets, and reflected on what brought me the most joy over the course of the last year (aside from the Husband and the Kids, of course), it was my sky photos, and the habit of looking for the light. And thus, my word was chosen.
I want to be light and frolicsome
I want to be improbable
Beautiful
And afraid of nothing,
As though I had wings.
-Mary Oliver
As I was reading quotes today from some of my favourite poets, the quote above by Mary Oliver came up. And it summarizes exactly how I feel today, on this first day of the new year.
I hope these words inspire you as much as they inspired me today. And I wish you nothing but the absolute very best as you navigate your way through this new year, with all your hopes, your dreams, your goals, and your aspirations. May they all come to fruition.
xoxo
nancyhotson 