One Little Word Update: February 2021

February 23, 2021 By Carole

It’s the 4th Tuesday of the month and that means it’s time to join up with Carolyn and share how I’m doing with my 2021 One Little Word: Create.

I’m happy to say that I’ve stuck with the prompts from Ali Edward’s class for the 2nd month in a row. This is truly an accomplishment because February is always the dreaded vision board month and I’ve always avoided the prompt. It’s not that I’m opposed to creating a vision board (or collage, as we called it back in the ’70s) it’s just that I don’t subscribe to magazines and that right there creates a problem when it comes to gathering materials for the project.

But, Carole, you might say, you work in a library! Yes. Yes, I do, and this year I remembered to snag some of the magazines we were discarded before they were gone. I cut out lots of photos and words, basically anything that made me feel good. After a few sessions of that I sat down with my pile and started sorting and studying. It wasn’t long before I realized I had two things coming through in a big way . . . nature . . . and serenity. I arranged and rearranged and finally settled on this layout:

I kind of love it! I had fun creating it and it’s now propped on the mantel in my studio. I am going to print out a photo of it for my One Little Word binder and journal on the other side about how those photos and words make me feel.

I think they illustrate in a really fabulous way so much about the life I am attempting to create.

One Little Word Update: January 2021

January 27, 2021 By Carole

Today I’m sharing what I’ve done this month to bring my OLW, create, into my life.

Traditionally in January I look for ways to make my word visible. For the past few years I have purchased a pocket talisman from Liz Lamoreux of Soul Mantras. I keep this where I can see it regularly, generally in my kitchen on the window sill. I sometimes put it in my pocket or bring it to work and keep it on my desk.

This year I did something new and used Word Swag to make a background wallpaper for my iPhone with the word create at the bottom. It’s right there on my screen as a visual and frequent reminder and it helps me prioritize create repeatedly throughout the day.

I also started documenting my OLW journey with the prompts from Ali Edwards. The last time I did this was in 2018 but I stopped in April. These days I have a lot more art supplies for this sort of project, pens and paints and stamps and more. I think working in this binder every month will help me to stay on track with the prompts and I’m looking forward to not just recording my relationship with my word but also building something I can reflect back on when I think about create.

I think the things I’ve done so far are setting me up for a great year ahead with create. Thanks to Carolyn for hosting our monthly word round up, blogging about it is another important way for me to hold myself accountable for this work and I’m thankful y’all are reading and commenting.

Three On Thursday

January 21, 2021 By Carole

I have a somewhat unusual day ahead of me, doing some things I don’t normally do. Since it’s Thursday I’ve decided to tell you about 3 of them.

I’m attending a virtual municipal conference. Last year I attended this conference in Boston in person with my colleagues (both from the Board of Selectmen and from work) and Dale. It was informative and inspiring and FUN. This year the conference is virtual and I don’t anticipate having nearly as much fun. Still, I’m going to give it a go and participate and hopefully learn some things and get some insight.
I’m having a baseline bone density test this afternoon. I know it’s a simple and painless procedure – you literally just lay down – and I’m glad my doctor ordered it. But. It also sort of means I’m officially old. Boo.
I’m going to work on my One Little Word notebook. Now, on the one hand this is not unusual for me since I’ve been choosing One Little Word for quite a few years now. What is unusual, however, is that I’ve decided to actually follow the prompts from Ali Edwards and create a journal of my experiences. I haven’t done this part of the process since 2017 and I’m looking forward to playing with paper and stamps and pens and documenting my process.

And that’s my day ahead in a nutshell. If you wrote a post for today I hope you will add your link below!

P.S. Yesterday was a very, very good day.

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Monday On My Mind

January 11, 2021 By Carole

When I shared my One Little Word for 2021 with you I didn’t say much about why I chose it. Today I’m going to fill in the blanks on this decision.

My word, Create, came to me back in the fall. I was reflecting on my journey with Open in 2020 and thinking that it had been very meaningful, totally surprising, and pretty abstract. Open served me well, helping me to embrace vulnerability and expand my self awareness. Thinking about moving forward, though, I knew I wanted a word that would feel more tangible. A word that would inspire action. A word that would ground me but still allow me the freedom to express myself.

Create is that word. While I’m sure at times it will be a word that inspires me to knit and sew and write, what I’m mostly interested in focusing on is creating feelings and experiences. I want to use this word as a daily reminder that I am making choices about the life I am living. I want to enforce that even when I can’t control the things that are happening around me I can create my response to those things. Create is the perfect word to build on the things I discovered last year when I was Open. The bottom line is this: I want to create a life that’s authentic and purposeful.

I’m really looking forward to sharing the journey here. I hope it’s full of surprises (good ones, anyway) and insights and lessons that will be good not only for me but for all of you as well.

One Little Word, 2021

January 1, 2021 By Carole

We interrupt our regularly scheduled Eye Candy Friday post to bring you an announcement.

My word for 2021 is create. I will be sharing more about how I came to choose this word and how I hope to explore it over the course of the year in the days to come. For now, though, I will just say Happy New Year, let’s create the energy to make it a good one!