My One Word for 2024

I typed the title wrong just now... I used "2023" instead of "2024..." Then I looked back on my previous posts and realized I didn't change my word last year (I kept "present" for the past two years), but I'm writing this to work out what my new word will be this year. "Present" worked pretty well, and I'm ready for a change.

I saw three blog posts in my Feedly this morning that tackled the "one word" idea. 

     Claim Your Greatness - Why #OneWord Will Define Your Year from Andy Milne

     One Word, One Wish from Sheri Edwards

     It's Tuesday! Join Us for Slice of Life! #SOL24 from Jenna Komarin (Two Writing Teachers) 

          (The comments are FULL of #OneWord posts!)

And I've received the seven days of "how to" from Jon Gordon (signed up through an email - here's his book on it I haven't read).

So this is my first #SOL24 Slice of Life post!

Disclaimer: I've read how to create a word for the year, and yet I've only followed the steps when it comes to doing this in class with my students. And that's AFTER I've already chosen a word. I choose it based on how it sounds, how it feels in my mouth, and what it does to my brain and heart. I've learned I like consistency, as I noticed I'd had the word "gratitude" from 2014-2022!! My life is full of gratitude - it helps me in so many ways, and I checked it out in my posts - I write about gratitude OFTEN! Practicing gratitude is a huge part of my thinking.

I've read so many "self-help" and focus and attention books the last few years. I've focused on being present and in the moment for two years now, but the word "present" itself doesn't do as much for me as maybe "listen" or "breathe" or "attention" ?? could now. I collect quotes from books (they're all here), and from one of the last books I read, I saved this one: 

I'm not a big fan of the word "attention" by itself, as it sounds... military to me. But attention is what I want to give. I want to give love in the form of attention. I want to give it to others by being fully present in the moment. I also want to give it to myself by noticing all I'm grateful for in each moment, and noticing where my attention is (or is going!), so I can work on keeping it in each moment.

Two things help me pay better attention - breathing a couple of deep breaths (sometimes even just one helps bring be back!), and listening fully. I'm not sure if it was during one of my mindfulness sessions (with the Calm app), or if it was something I was reading about Stoicism, but something had me think about the sun. The sun gives and gives, and it never asks, "What can you do for me?" This made me think about the act of giving attention - giving that consistent and unconditional love. I've been toying with the idea of a tattoo (but OUCH?!), and so I've been drawing a sunset on the inside of my right wrist for a few days now. 

Not just a sun - to remind me to give attention without expecting anything in return - but a sunset - to remind me of something my nephew once said to us as we were in awe at the sunset in Holland, MI, "This happens every day." It's consistent. And also to remind me that now I'm kind of (sort of? actually?) in my own sunset years. My life is at least half-way through, and what will I do now? How should I live my life right?

But "sun" doesn't work for me, and neither does "sunset." They are nouns, not actions.

So....... I look up "sun." It's at the center of our solar system. That brings me to "center" - which is what I try to do to myself to ground myself when I'm upset or shaken by something. I center myself. And I'm noticing more and more what's in my center of control - my thoughts and my voluntary actions... but "center" sounds too... ego-driven. I read more about the sun... "energy," "heat," "radiation," "light," "life," "elements" ...  It's mass consists of a lot of gas... ;) And it formed from the "gravitational collapse of matter," which reminds me of how our challenges change us.

What about "radiate"? Can an adjective like "consistent" work? Not for me. I might want to change further, and "consistent" won't help me accept change, unless I think of it for how I should act in the face of change... consistent with the behaviors that help me stay in the moment? I want to go back to providing my attention as an act of love. I want to stop, breathe, listen, and give love through my attention to the people around me and the present moment.

So... I went for a walk in the middle of writing this blog post.

Words that came into my mind: shine, notice, accept, recognize, appreciate, quiet, pause, observe... To me, "shine" means positivity, and I can't act positive all the time - some people are put off by that. I thought of "shine" meaning to "radiate" or "share," but that won't work for me. "Recognize" means what, really? To "know again?" I can "notice" and not always "recognize" or "accept," and that's plenty okay. I think it's important to notice without judgement, so "notice" is my favorite right now. I said "Happy New Year" to someone on my walk, and they didn't respond, so I said it back to myself... immediately I thought of the word "quiet." Like, really, Joy, just shut up. My snarky reaction was to say it back to myself? I was judging, that's for sure. But "quiet" to me is not as good as "listen," and I've already taken that out of the mix for this year. I like "pause," but I like "breathe" and "notice" better. As for "observe," to me it has a negative connotation - only because of classroom observations. Observing is great. Noticing... better (in my opinion).

Yup. I'm going to go with "notice" for this year's #OneWord. I'm going to pause, breathe, and notice the sights, sounds, smells, what my body is doing (heart rate, breathing, tense or not), what other people look like or are saying or how they're acting... and then I can decide how best to act. During a startling or angering moment, I'll take this break, notice what I can, and then be my best self. I'll notice that the sun comes up each day (even if it's hidden behind the clouds) and sets somewhere in a beautiful way each evening. I'll notice the constant heat and warmth it provides - without asking anything of me. I'll notice what I'm giving my attention to and redirect it if it's not beneficial to myself or others.

Here's a snapshot of the point in my walk when I realized I wanted my word to be "notice." I heard a squirrel eating, birds chirping, wind rustling through the weeds. I was noticing the steam above the water, the reflection of the trees and sun, and I was looking for the hawk I'd seen land in the trees (it eluded me). I could smell winter - crisp, cold in my nose, old leaves and maybe a tiny scent of skunk? I could feel the breeze on my cheeks, the sun in my eyes, and the quiet peace of this spot.

If you'd zoom in, you'd might notice the blue heron at the edge of the far right side of this tributary on our creek in our forest preserve. 

I've seen this big bird on my last three walks near the dam. Here's a bonus photo of it - it was about ten feet from me and didn't fly away when I recorded it and took its picture! :D

If you'd zoom out, you'd notice the sun trying to light up the morning.

I hope to notice more in 2024. When I notice, I hope to pause and breathe, listen better, provide more attention, make fewer judgements, and stay centered in more moments.

I'm excited to NOTICE and give attention to other bloggers in 2024, as well! 

Thank you Two Writing Teachers for creating a space to share our stories.