I am joining Honoré to close out my word of 2020.
Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen Hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is. — Mary Anne Radmacher
This quote has served me very well this year… today, I am not sure if I picked it, or if it picked me. But these words became so important each day of this year. I almost gave up on this word early on in Pandemic Days, but I am glad that I stuck with it and finally stopped fighting it long enough to truly learn something.
December I purposefully lived with intention every single day. And my days included bits of all of Mary Anne’s advice! I listened. I practiced wellness. I played with abandon (thank you AC for really helping in this category! lol) I laughed… so much. I learned some new things this month and as a result knit the best fitting sock I have ever knit!
Perhaps December is the easiest month to “do what you love” but I really leaned in to the joys of this season. I sang along with all the Christmas songs. I nurtured my inner child and watched The Grinch (both the Boris Karloff and the Jim Carrey versions!)
I savored every phone call… the ones full of laughter, the ones full of uncertainty, and the ones full of frustration and tears… and instead of wishing things were different right now, I practiced living as if this is all there is. And while I have always understood that this is living – it somehow clicked in a different way this month. And I realized that those parts… well they are the parts that walk you to the edge. It is not about living dangerously, but rather living fully. I don’t think I would have even begun to grasp that concept in a “normal year” because I think this was the year for truly learning about being intentional and making it part of my life… an integral part.
But the question I have been thinking about for longer than December is where do I go from here. I started this word journey sort of haphazardly. No thought went into the first couple of words. My first word in 2016 was Gratitude (yet I could find no blog posts at all showing that I even spent any time at all learning anything about gratitude) and then in 2017 I spent the year with Joy. There are a couple of posts about that, but still no thought about why I might pick joy. And so, because I just really did not “get” the impact a word could have, I did not pick a word in 2018. However, as the year moved on something curious began to happen. A word started showing up (or maybe I just started paying attention) there were some inspirational emails that talked about it, and there were so many quotes! So I started 2019 with a new word Focus! It was a glorious year. I learned so much. I grew so much. It was exactly what I needed.
Intentional living came to me much the same way… inspirational emails, passages in books, and my focus led me there. So where will Intentional Living lead me? Two words kept circling round my brain – authenticity and vulnerability. They seemed to be the right next step, but something just felt off about both of them. The more I spent time with those words… pondering them… the more unsettled I became. And in November the big answer came for me. Yes those are simply brilliant words and likely a lovely step from Intentional Living, but I knew that there was some heavy work I had to do before I could get to those words. And that heavy work… well, it’s all about release…
Just the thing I have been avoiding my entire life. I am not sure how much of this journey I want to share here, but my hope is to share the process of realease rather than the things being released. And of all people, Goldie Hawn’s words of wisdom will give me some guidance.
“If we can just let go and trust that things will work out the way they’re supposed to, without trying to control the outcome, then we can begin to enjoy the moment more fully. The joy of the freedom it brings becomes more pleasurable than the experience itself.” ― Goldie Hawn
I hope you will continue follow along on this journey to see where it takes me!
Finally, I would like to thank Honoré for hosting us this year!
You can see all of my Intentional Journey here.
It sounds like intention really was the perfect word for this year! Having seen Mary Anne Radmacher’s quote on your blog several times, it’s really starting to seep into my head and heart, so I thank you for sharing your journey. I’m not sure what word I might choose or even if I will choose at all, but I do hope that I can do some work and arrive at the place you are – accepting what is instead of wishing things were different. I hope release is as transformative for you as intention has been. Way to go, Kat!
This is only my first year of having a OLW, but what I’ve come to realize is that what makes a word a good fit is some sort of struggle with it. If it’s easy to live with, then it’s not a good word — we should pick a word that challenges us in some way. And I know for a fact that you’ve struggled with your word this year, but I think that struggle has led to some important realizations on your part. And I think Release sounds like it will be just as meaningful for you!
I’ve enjoyed your journey with Intention Kat and I’ll look forward to seeing where Release takes you. Sounds like it is a good one!
What a moving post, Kat. I feel like I went on a world tour of feelings + emotions while reading this–and rereading parts. It was such a confusing, intense year–but it sounds like you were able to distill a lot from it. And it sounds like 2021 could be a transformative year. I love that Goldie Hawn quote–she nails it. Thank you for introducing it to me.
What a beautiful, inspirational post. I admire those who live with intention. My life seems to be much too slapdash at times. I aspire to play with abandon! 🙂 Your words here illustrate the importance of being still so we can hear what the Universe is trying to tell us – exactly what you did beginning in 2019.
I’m so glad your word served you well this year! Here’s to another interesting year of exploration and discovery.
I’m with you on choosing a word that pushed me to the brink. I hope your journey with your new word will be a good one.
What a year, Kat. Thank you for sharing so much about your journey and your process. and here’s to another year of growth and discovery. I love your 2021 word … it’s certainly not a “little” one is it?!
I’ve loved how you broke down that quote every month, Kat. It was a fun take on your year of living intentionally. Release… what a concept! And the vulnerability it will bring is breathtaking. I can’t wait to follow along with the bits you’re able to share in this space.
I’m so glad that your word served you so well this year Kat. Release should bring about an excellent but not necessarily easy journey. You’ve got this!