Hello & Happy New Year! I trust everyone has been well and had a fine holiday season (including all holidays that fall during this time of year, and not a dis to Christmas, the holiday that I celebrate). I have been absent for what turned out to be a long mentally fallow period. I thought quite a bit about creativity during this period, but wasn’t able to rub enough coherent thoughts together to put into a single meaningful post.
New Year being a traditional time for reflection, I think that I have a cohesive theme for this post, you can let me know if you agree.
Looking back a bit, I have previously explained my stance on Resolutions so no need to reiterate. Last year, a columnist that I particularly appreciate wrote about a different concept that has more meaning to me. She, Mary Schmich, wrote about selecting a word to represent the year. (I took time from completing this post to see if I could find her column but have decided that turned into a side-track better left alone.)
Last year I chose the word experience. I wanted it to mean having new experiences. I wanted to use the word to prompt myself into getting out and trying new things. Well, it didn’t work out that way. However it wasn’t a total bust as a word choice. I experienced moments with family, including trips to visit more distant relatives. I experienced moments with friends. Moments of quiet reflection were mixed into my experiences in 2015.
Then there is acquired experience. I learned new things at work and brushed up exisiting knowledge on other things like implementation of a new program and field mapping to integrate systems. Creatively, I might not have been writing but I did practice photography and a little sewing. I appreciated the art and culture of Ireland when I took myself to the Art Institute of Chicago for a day.
Mostly normal experiences for a year, but I was more aware because of my chosen word. And that makes me feel good about the year just passed – particularly when I look at all the should’ve and could’ve and didn’t lists… Which will always exist.
Now the word for this year, which I have picked with less deliberation than last year’s. This was a more intuitive choice. Joy. Usually we don’t think about joy except when we are singing about it at Christmastime. But joy is never that far away, as I learned from my mom. It can even be found in small doses, lurking nearby the most awful things. Waiting to be discovered and relished.
I hope that your year is full of experiences worthy of note and joy.
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Tagged: Life, New Year, Reflection, Words
BAReed Writing, Business Writing 
as to your word for this year: joy — yes! and I find I need it renewed every day, just as an alcoholic lives one day at a time — I find my joy in feeling good about myself and thus ready to tackle all chores and challenges — Beth, I remember once you said or posted about wearing black — you were not of that persuasion — but to me wearing black gets my spirits up and feeling good esp in the winter so I am embracing black for my first few months of fulfilling joy. amen.
I did say that I prefer to wear color, though I have plenty of black pants and sweaters and jackets and such. I thought about this just last week when I had almost all black on – though my top was floral print. Amen to fulfilling joy!