Another year, another word. Actually, I had decided not to choose a word this year partly because I’ve been thinking about moving away from having a website. So, this is a heads up to follow me on Facebook and Instagram, which might become the main platforms I use to communicate in the future. But not yet–it’s a much more difficult process to let the baby (my website) go than I thought.
In the first few days of the new year year I began to wonder if I should choose a word even if I wasn’t going to write about it, and even if no one would know what word I chose. Then a dear friend from Switzerland messaged me asking what my word was for this year since she hadn’t seen anything about it. That was all the encouragement I needed, and I immediately responded that my word would be Beauty. Maybe it came to mind because I had visited this friend and a few others this summer in their beautiful country! It seems that everywhere you look, there’s a gorgeous vista, bright blue water, milky white glacial streams, and the lovely sound of cow bells in the distance (or sometimes right behind you)!
I’ve actually noticed the theme of beauty in some of the books I’ve been reading, and in particular John O’Donohue’s book, Beauty: The Invisible Embrace. For Thanksgiving this year, I asked everyone to share something they recently saw or experienced that was beautiful (instead of the standard gratitude list).
Sometimes it can be hard to notice the beauty around us, especially when there’s so much sadness, conflict, or meanness in the world. So this year, I’m looking for beauty each day. It can sometimes be found in the most unexpected places and during the darkest times. And sometimes it’s shouting from the mountain tops.
