2021 One Little Word® – heal

Hi friends. It’s been a minute. 2020 was….something, wasn’t it? Phew. So far, 2021 isn’t feeling much different. What a wild time. Despite the chaos that is dominating the news cycle, January is still full of possibilities.

I have written before about this time of year…it’s my favorite. While I’m not one for sweeping resolutions, I do love the opportunity to reflect, reevaluate, and plan.

One Little Word® is one of the opportunities that has been super important to me since 2010. My previous OLWs: Story | Light | Practice | Celebrate|And | Magic | Forward | Soar | Shift| Abundance | Mindful

My 2021 OLW is heal. For the first time, I’m also choosing companion words – energy & rest.

Similar to last year, I wasn’t “feeling” a OLW as we headed into the new year. I have other projects planned for this year, and for a moment, I thought that maybe I’d skip this project. The Universe had other ideas.

My OLW showed itself late in 2020, during a text exchange with my Wisconsin girls (they are a lifeline). I sat with it for a couple of days, and felt certain by NYE. Here’s how heal occurs for me…

to make healthy, whole, or sound; restore to health; free from ailment.

For much of my adult life, I have operated from a place of brokenness. I fought to overcome struggle. I suffered very literal, physical brokenness in the accident. I sought remedies, solutions, improvement….I did the work in earnest. In the second half of my 40s, I started to experience the results of those efforts. I started actually creating instead of just repairing. When this OLW first came up, I thought what is left to heal?

That’s the space that I’ll be exploring this year.

Our country needs to heal. Our world needs to heal. Our planet needs to heal. How can I participate and contribute to that healing?

Our family has been through some things (understatement) in the past couple of years, and we actively work on healing from that trauma.

All of the stress of 2020 has contributed to a renewed need for my body to heal. I live with a rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis, and I choose to manage it largely without pharmaceuticals. So I’ll be focusing on ways to heal with food, exercise, supplements, and meditation (supervised & supported by my doctor, of course).

My companion words sit on both sides of healing. In order to heal, we have to put our energy into the process, and we also have to rest. I anticipate playing with that balance a lot this year.

I signed up for Ali’s year-long course, set up a Pinterest board, and started a 6×8 album. I’ll likely share more on Instagram/FB than I do in this space, but who knows – maybe I’ll get back to blogging.

Have you chosen a One Little Word®? If you have, please share!