Dates. Disappointments. Hangovers. Laughter. Quiet. Hope. Tinder. Decisions. Heat. Sweat. London. Sister. Nephew. Cucumber. Chorizo. Cacao. Water. G&T. Pimms. Dehydration. Expectation. Talk. Boredom. Patience. Impatience. Lipstick. Perfume. Laundry. Cotton sheets. Kantha. Flip flops. Nail varnish. Showers. Sultry nights. Restless days. Linden blossom. Pavements. The tube. Tourists. Exasperation. Fantasies. Realities. Awakening. Specificity. Poetry. Words. Blank pages. Website. Designer. Emails. Excitement. iPhone. Polaroid. Vintage fan. Humidity. Oracle cards. Essential oils. Showers. White nectarines. Rekindling friendships. Love. Notebooks. Lavender. Incense. Black coffee. Tattoos. Music. Meditation. Sleep. Dreams. Morning routines. Lust. Frustration. Intuition. Planning. Escaping. Wondering. Becoming. Releasing. Living. Knowing. Silence. Soul. Now.
A Word of the Year check-in
We’re fast approaching the middle of the year so it feels like the right time to check-in with our words. Did you pick a guiding word for 2015? If you did, has it made any impact on how the last six months have unfolded?
My word for this year is NOURISH and it’s honestly been the most dynamic word choice I think I’ve ever made. I suspect it’s something to do with how intentionally I chose it in December — this has always been quite a nourishing practice for me (pun intended) but this year it’s been especially transformational.
NOURISH helped me heal after the surgery in January. It inspired me to sign up for a 100-hour yoga immersion (which I loved). It brought reiki into my life (must share that story one day!). It’s informing every decision I make about the new website, and, perhaps most interestingly, it’s helping me approach online dating with a more relaxed and open attitude this time around.
NOURISH is looking after me in so many ways and I’m loving it as much as I did when it first occurred to me last year. For context: I’ve had a few years where I struggled to remember what my word was about this time!
I should mention here that I don’t spend my whole day meditating on my word, obviously, but I have noticed I ask myself “does this feel nourishing?” more often than not. It’s like my word choice has created a through-line I can follow and is having a positive effect on so many parts of my life I’m wondering if I should adopt it for 2016 and beyond.
It may be that your word has been slow to have any effect but now the year’s well under way you’re noticing the wisdom of your choice. It may also be that you weren’t ready to pick a word in December but now feels like a better time to choose.
And if your word hasn’t felt like the right fit, what not choose a different word for the last half of 2015? Or pick another word just because you can.
Gift yourself an hour this weekend to read through your Unravelling the Year workbook and see where you are with those intentions you sketched out. If you want to choose another word — for whatever reason — the free Find Your Word mini course is still available over here. I plan to work through it next week to see if any extra words make themselves known :)
How have your been getting on with your word(s)? I’d love to know xo
The word
When December began I wasn’t sure of my word for 2015. Usually the right one floats up into my consciousness as the year draws to an end but this time I needed more time to reflect. Creating — and doing — the Find Your Word mini course was SO helpful (and fun! I love the community that’s been created). There’s always been mindfulness and intention behind my word choices but this year I’ve had the chance to delve deeper into the whys of my choice.
Some of my previous words proved to be wildly empowering — BRAVE, EXPAND and OPEN were all dynamically useful words that helped me create change in my life. Other words have been less helpful: COMPASSION, for example, was a bit of a cop-out in 2011. The more I do this practice the more I understand what works and what doesn’t — and why it’s such a valuable thing to do each year.
Last year’s word was MIRACLES and while I definitely witnessed some wonderful occurrences in 2014, I now realise I was relinquishing control and hoping that something ‘out there’ would create the changes I desired. MIRACLES was not a word I could participate in — it was a word I hoped to observe, and that turned out to be rather disempowering. I don’t regret my choice (this isn’t a lifelong commitment after all!) but it’s made me determined to make a more considered choice for this year…
NOURISH. Oh my goddess, yes. This is my word for 2015.
This is going to be the year of absolute self care in the best possible way. I’m at an age where I see that no one else is going to look after me — and I don’t want them to. I spent my 20s wanting someone else to, but that’s just not how it works. I am in charge of me and my life. I am responsible for making sure I am looked after. And so NOURISH is going to help me really sink into what this means — and most importantly, implement it in my day-to-day life.
All decisions and choices this year will be passed through my “is this nourishing?” filter. Work and play, love and life, everything. What is most nourishing for me in this situation? In this friendship? In this business decision? In this choice I’m making? What’s the most nourishing thing I can do for myself right now? This week? This month? Today?
And most of all, in all things, in everything: If it’s not a hell yeah, it’s a no. Full stop.
NOURISH includes but also reaches much further than food and nutrition. It’s how I care for my body and mind, my heart and soul. It’s how I treat myself — and how I let others treat me, too. It’s boundaries and rest. It’s an open heart and the relinquishing of expectations.
I also have an inkling that NOURISH will be woven deeply into the work I share this year. I can already feel it as I journal my way through plans for my business: A meditation album. An oracle deck (finally!). A delicious new course. A new website. All of it nourishing for me and nourishing for YOU.
I reached the end of 2014 depleted and bone-tired. I’m so ready to be nourished from the inside out.
I reckon this is going to be a good year. :)
What’s your word for 2015?
Workbooks in the wild
How lovely do these all look? One of my wildest dreams is to create my own journal and stationery line — seeing these photos makes me want to do it even more. One day!
You can download the workbook and calendar over here — if you share a photo on Instagram use the hashtag #unravelling2015 so I can take a peek xo
Photo credits, in order of appearance: Amy @_firstloveyourself_ | Nic @nicolalf | Debra @innercompassdesigns | Tiffany @ariestrash | Vicki @vixbrown | Zuzette @zuzette_estevez | Michelle @mycreative | Maria @lovethatplanner | Lauren @mindfulmealsrdn | Heather @heatherdyan | Sherri @smhutchinswriter