One Little Word for 2021

This is the 11th year I’ve chosen a word to guide my intentions for the year. Most of them have served me well–some better than others. This year nothing came quickly to mind, but before I went hunting for a word (which I’ve needed to do occasionally in the past), EXPLORE popped out at me, and I knew immediately it was the word for me this year.

Exploration is curiosity put into action. Don Walsh

This quote pretty well defines what I’m hoping for by choosing this word. Let’s hope by the end of 2021, the first definition in the dictionary also holds true:

1. travel in or through (an unfamiliar country or area) to learn about or familiarize oneself with it.

There are so many things (and places) I want to explore. Some of the things I want to explore from home are prayer practices, new card making techniques, journal writing, sketching and sketchbook design, photography (more intentional, using my Canon and Sony cameras as well as my iPhone), and writing a Rule of Life. The books I chose for the photograph above cover some of those topics. Missing from the pile is The Adventures of Seeing which I loaned to a church friend over a year ago. I’ve have sent an email to see if I can retrieve it to use for a potential photography project. Heart Talk and Life’s Companion are for exploring more intentional and meaningful journaling, and Note to Self is about writing a Rule of Life. I’ve also found information about that on Tsh Oxenreider’s site. An Illustrated Life has been on my shelf (and perused) for several years. That and Liz Steel’s new class “Sketchbook Design” will help me explore sketching again. The book on the bottom is a new journal I’ve invested in that provides a two-page spread for organizing your day, writing your morning and evening gratitudes and summarizing the day. At the end of each week, there’s a reflection page that includes a habit tracker. I’ve been looking for several years for the “perfect” journal. This may not be it, but it’s the closest I’ve found. The drawback is that it’s a three month journal and costs more than most year-long ones. If it works, it will be worth it to me. By the end of March I should have a good idea. 

My biggest take-away from last year’s OLW, COMMIT, was that setting monthly intentions from a broader list worked much better for me. Eventually I got to more of the items on my lists than I had in the past, Each month will include a reading goal, an organizational/purging goal, and a group of habits to track. For January, it’s 1) establish a morning routine of reading (firmly in place,) journaling, and meditation/prayer; 2) complete four books including one from The Unread Shelf Project–a project from 2020 that I’m continuing; 3) begin a weekly sketchbook page reflecting joys and gratitude, and 4) begin to work my way through my stamp/die collection, actually using them before deciding which ones to keep and which ones to give away or donate. I’m guessing that February’s goals will look much the same with different books, perhaps a change in habits to track, and once the sketchbook class has ended, a new creative goal. I’m feeling pretty flexible and willing to change things up until they feel right. 

So here’s to 2021. I’m guessing the next few months will be difficult ones. Observing safety routines will be more important than ever as others get frustrated and give up on the isolation requirements. A vaccine for folks my age may be available by March, and I hope that’s not an overly optimistic prediction. And I’m hoping my OLW project will help keep me entertained and busy here at home!