It’s the last Tuesday of the month and that means it’s time to join with Carolyn and talk about my One Little Word, practice.

I’ve got to admit that my heart sort of sank when I saw that this month’s prompt from Ali Edward’s was a choose your own adventure type of thing. I’m someone who likes to make lists and take action and have concrete steps. And really, the idea of going on a date with my word (yes indeed that was one of the suggestions) just felt silly to me.

However, when I sat down to watch Ali’s monthly video, I immediately started taking notes and eventually realized I was coming up with the areas of my life I want to focus on when I consider practice. Before I knew it, I had a full blown mind map going, with circles and arrows and strike throughs.

The question for me is: what are the things I want to practice to live an authentic, balanced, fulfilling, and joyful life? And: how do I practice well being of mind and body?

I’m answering those questions by taking care of myself through a variety of ways, some fun and some more like work. I have identified:

listening to music and reading
creative pursuits including knitting and writing and art journaling
exploring my relationship with food by working with a nutritionist and learning to use my pizza oven
considering my history with movement and healing that relationship

I’m excited at how this all played out for me, especially since I thought this month would be a dud. Instead, I’m feeling energized and excited about practice in some truly specific ways.

It’s the last Tuesday of the month and that means it’s time to join with Carolyn and talk about my One Little Word, practice.

For this month’s prompt over at Ali Edwards, we worked on writing a poem. Yep, you heard me. We wrote poems. And even though that sounds about as intimidating as can be, the structure of the whole thing made it very very doable. Fun, even. Liz Lamoreux was in charge and she gave us great questions to answer, both from our own perspective and from the perspective of our words. Then she had us circle key phrases and answer a few more questions. And then, after a bit more direction, she had us writing poetry.

I’m taking a big gulp and sharing mine with you. I don’t think great literature but I was able to capture the feeling I wanted and that’s enough.

I think of summer afternoons
When the light filters through the window, turning everything gold
And the breeze gently stirs the curtains and baths me in delicious air
Home is comfortable and safe, a respite from an uncertain and broken world
A place where I’m tempted to hide myself away

Instead, I choose to let love in because
I know, deep in my soul, that I am better for it
And that the work
                -even the hard work
                -even the heavy work
Will produce results

I don’t have to get everything right
I decide what is worthwhile and define my own success
So long as I agree to try

I can meander this path
                -of my life
                -of my service
and throw flowers before me
their reds and yellows and pinks
blazing with possibility.

I am learning my lessons
trauma is not forever
nature is predictable and has no hidden agenda
the wheel of the year is always, and will always, keep turning.

I embrace the joy of freedom,
and fling myself into possibility
And remember that showing up
                -as myself
                -for myself
is enough.

I’m late with this post because of the time I took off from the blog but here I am anyway with my monthly One Little Word update. The best news is that my stuff from Ali Edwards arrived and I was able to transfer all of the things I had written in January into my new journal.

And then I moved on to the February prompt.

I read all the documentation, watched all the videos, and got out my magazines and catalogs and started cutting out photos for my new vision board. I decided to create it right in my OLW journal instead of on a bigger board and I’m very happy with the results.

I also, following the prompt, created a mind map for my word. I identified areas in my life where I feel like practice will make things better or happier or more authentic. And I embellished it with butterflies because . . . I like butterflies.

These may not look like much, they may be very simple ways of connecting with myself and my word, but they have a major impact because the act of arranging a vision board, the act of creating a mind map, requires that I spend time quietly that I sit and daydream and contemplate. I think about how practice looks and feels and then I use the things I identify to produce a tangible focal point. I was resistant to this whole concept until last year and now I look forward to it.

And now I’m on to March and finding new ways to make practice work it’s way even further into my life.

It’s the 4th Tuesday of the month and that means it’s time to join with Carolyn and talk about my One Little Word, practice.

I like having a specific place to track my progress so I ordered the main kit from Ali Edwards back in December to help me record my journey with my word. Unfortunately, due to supply issues, I have not yet received these items. Ali did make things available for download, though, so I printed things out on paper and I wrote down my thoughts and I will add them to the journal when I receive it.

I have read the lesson documents, watched the mid month videos, and even participated in an online zoom with about 200 other One Little Word-ers. These things have inspired me to sit down and document this month. I have written about why I chose this word, how I will encourage myself to consider this word on a regular basis, and how I hope it will help me live a more authentic and meaningful life. Some of it is rambling and some of it is messy and all of it is real.

Following Ali’s advice, I have identified how my word can help me with physical, emotional, spiritual, relationship, and creative growth. I want to feel pride and accomplishment instead of shame and failure and I believe focusing on these areas will help me make progress with that. I also want to remember that practice is an opportunity to try and I don’t have to be perfect or always get it right the first (or 100th) time.

The first month is so important for me when it comes to really thinking about my word and identifying how I hope it will impact my life. It’s also a time to remind myself that there will be surprises, there will be setbacks, there will be months when I don’t feel inspired . . . but I will show up for my word anyway.

Practice. It’s going to be good.

Happy New Year, my friends! As is my tradition, my first post of the year is about my One Little Word. And this year the word I have chosen is . . .

Practice.

This word actually came to my late in the process, I had another one all selected. But once I saw this one, I couldn’t shake it and I knew it was right for me for 2022. I love that it’s both a noun and a verb. I love that it means to do something repeatedly as a custom or habit and to gain proficiency in the process.

In other words, practice means to try. Repeatedly. It offers the freedom of failure (I will not be embracing the phrase practice makes perfect) but at the same time it’s a reminder to get back to it (whatever it is) and give it another go. It’s not about achieving . . . it’s about doing.

I’m excited to see where practice takes me this year and I hope you will follow along on this journey.