It’s not too late ever to create an intention for the year. I really love how creating a word to inspire the year can influence how we think and what we do.  Yes, it’s never too late to find your word. Rather than setting a new year’s goal, I like to create the word of the year, and then choose an image that connects me to the word.  Somehow, this creates a synergy that soothes and delights.

 

Last year my word was surfacing. Sometimes, when I told people  my word  was surfacing, I would get a confused look.  Sometimes, I had to explain how the word would shape me, direct me. Maybe they were thinking “how can surfacing be a focus for a gal like you?” What a good focus it was. To me it represented coming up out of the deep water and swimming on the surface of my life.  My image was one of a loon coming up for air, dancing  on the water, and singing that haunting song.

 

This year my word is ALIGN or ALIGNING.  Both fit for me and I look forward to it’s influence.  I think it will keep me on track this year: aligning with my values, going a few less directions in my work, improving on my posture from the inside out and from the feet up.  Choosing a word is softer than the hard edges of specific goals. It provides flexibility, something I thrive on. I can just ask myself questions or inquiries like “what am I aligning with today?” or “How aligned was I with my values”.

 

One value that I am choosing to focus upon is simplicity. For example, one little home project at a time. It’s not as much fun for me as having five projects on the go, but it creates more harmony with my husband, for sure. And I complete things, eventually.

I’ve been creating some fun with this process of aligning. I’m bringing it to my daily activities.  I’m experimenting with getting dressed in the morning in some new ways. For example, sometimes I pick the socks I really want to wear and then choose the rest of the outfit. I’ve tried that with earrings too. Pick the earrings first, and then the clothes follow. It’s a different way of listening and aligning to my heart and my mood.

 

I picked the image above, by Nicholas Kirsten Houshin, to connect more deeply with my word align. And then I did a writing exercise to get to know both the image and the word better. You might want to try it out. It could go something like this.

• Go to a group of pictures, paintings, postcards, calendar images and find one or two that somehow connect you to your word.
• Gaze at the image and write down what you see or notice and write words and phrases that come to mind while feeling the joy of your image.
• Circle the words or phrases that you like the best
• Put a star next to the favourite 5.
• Arrange these words and phrases, adding extra if you wish, to create a poem or sentence. Edit this a few times.
• Write this poem out on a flat piece of paper or a box.
• Allow this to inspire you by placing it somewhere that you will see it frequently.

Many of the components of these instructions are using a principle called restriction. Somehow restriction, or reducing the choices, heats up the imagination. It never ceases to delight me.

Here is the poem that emerged out of the above image:

supported by the wind

she flies above

water now reflecting

light of moon

simple lines emerge

as texture and rhythm

And, even more fun was what happened to the poem when I put it on a box.  See my Instagram (windsongexpressivearts) post showing for what emerged on the box.