Open: Setting Intentions and Returning to My Word of the Year
It’s almost November, two more months left in 2021. At this time last year, many of us were ready for 2020 to be over. Ready to have a fresh start with a new year.
Did 2021 give us the fresh start we yearned for? Has it lived up to our hopes?
I’m not sure. I guess it’s a little early to assess the whole year. I try to formally check in with myself at the end of each month, but this year I haven’t been as good at it. I need to remember that I can check in any time, start fresh no matter the day. New beginnings needn’t require the turn of a calendar page.
I chose OPEN for my word this year. Have I kept it in mind these last ten months?
At times, yes. At times, no.
OPEN is such a beautiful, hopeful word. Even after all these months it still feels that way to me. Open to possibilities. Open to opportunities. Open to new ideas. Open to new ways of working. Open-minded. Open-hearted.
I re-read the post I wrote when I chose my word, remembering my intentions from the start of the year. Here are a few things that stand out to me:
This year I want to be open to possibilities. Open to trying new things. Open to discoveries. Open to inspiration. To beauty. To joy. To magic. To love.
“Success” and “failure” go hand in hand. I can’t be open to one without also being open to the other. Looking at it this way helps break down the barrier of fear — instead of closing myself off from failure, I’m opening myself to the possibility of success.
Although no year is perfect, in many ways I think I’ve stayed true to my word. I’m glad to be coming back to it now with fresh enthusiasm.
Recently I did a bit of rearranging in my studio*. I moved my sewing table out of the room and shuffled some of the other furniture. I wanted my main work table to be directly under the window. Having good lighting is one thing I struggle with in my current space. It’s bright, but there are challenges when it comes to taking photographs and filming video.
Although rearranging the furniture created a few more challenges (and didn’t completely solve my lighting struggles), one unintentional side effect was to OPEN the space. I have a bit more breathing room with one less table.
I don’t think I realized when I chose OPEN for my word at the end of 2020 that one thing I craved was open spaces, but it’s become clearer and clearer to me this year.
These next couple of months I want to recommit to being OPEN and do my best to open up some space in my life. So often once a space is cleared it’s quickly filled — whether that space is physical or metaphorical.
What if I were to leave an open space without the need to fill it?
It feels good to ask these questions, to remember my intentions from the beginning of 2021 and recommit to them.
As we approach the last two months of the year, maybe you want to revisit your intentions, too.
Here are a few ideas to help:
If you had a word for your year, spend some time thinking about how you’ve woven the word throughout the year. Is your word still relevant to you? Is there another that feels better to finish this year?
Take a look at any goals you set for yourself. Have you accomplished them? If not, are they still important to you? Have you set new ones? What goals would you most like to accomplish by the end of 2021?
If you write one, re-read your journal from this time last year, the end of last year and the beginning of this year. How do your feelings from those times align with your feelings now? What adjustments might you want to make to bring you more meaning or satisfaction or inspiration or joy these next two months?
If you’re an artist consider writing an Artist Manifesto (or revising it if you’ve written one before).
When we think about intentions and goals it can be tempting to look at what other people are doing and feel like everyone else has it more “together” than we do. It can seem that “they” know exactly what they want and how to get it. In reality, each of us is doing the best we can. Sometimes we stumble. Sometimes we fall short. And sometimes we accomplish things we never imagined we would.
Hang in there, my friends. And let’s finish the year mindfully, creatively and joyfully.
*I’m still hoping to move my studio and need to set some time aside to declutter, purge and organize, but that’s a story for another day.