So, there is this practise that my child and I have. Every day, we pull a single word “Angel of the Day” card. Or, “Word of the Day” – with the awareness that, the energy of that word walks with us throughout the day….
Truthfully, we don’t do this everyday – we get fed up with sometimes, or are busy dancing or drinking tea, or having tantrums, or are simply too engaged in the moment to remember – but we TRY to do this.
Intentionally, with awareness. At least, on my part! Because it helps to support us in focusing what our intention is for that day. I’m always curious too, as doing this gives me a sense of what the day MIGHT look or feel like for the kiddo…
Sometimes, I might simply ask my child, “What is your focus for the day? What is your intention – the energy you wish to carry into the day, and that you wish for the day to give back to you?” Quite often, when I do this, his answer is the same – “Love.” (We have a love of hearts and love in our household, and a motto in the home is that “There is a lot of love in this house.” – And we actively try to remember that, and to nourish it – between ourselves, cooking and within the house and the garden, and to offer the energy of Love to anyone who comes into our wee space here. To fill them up with Love…)
On the days where it just doesn’t feel right to ask that question of him, or, on the days where he hums and haws, or I do – seeking to surrender deeper into the moment to moment awareness and an expanded awareness – and there is a sense of looking outside for answers, or being open to what comes, we fall back into using our cards. It’s a simple deck I use. Single words, a cute little picture, hand drawn, and then printed, and a handy little box that they come in. I have other cards – “Mind lights”, “Angel affirmations”, “Medicine Woman” – but this is a favourite. This little deck, single words, and the wondering which comes with them…. The conversations that develop between us, and the inner reflection which goes on for me.
What does that mean? How does it reflect within and on my day to day today? Can I accept that? How does it fit in with the situations that evolve during the day? What energy does this bring to my understanding and awareness during the day? Do I share this? How, or Does it shape my day and the perspective I have today somehow…
Simple things, and yet. Powerful.
Mindfulness, in practise.
Sometimes, the same word presents itself again and again – asking me to pay attention to some aspect of my life. Before Christmas, this was Balance. Calling me into a deeper sense of questioning whether my work-play-home-love life was in balance, or to look at where it was out of balance.
A few years ago, Responsibility kept showing up – which I found frustrating and infuriating…. I wanted Play!!! A dear friend pointed out that Responsibility was nothing less and nothing more, than the ability to respond in each moment… And asked if I could live with that….? I can, and I do… the Ability to Respond, in each moment – and the power of reflection, and sharing that comes with it now for me as a result of that long ago frustration and conversation…
Why am I sharing all of this with you, Now?
Well, a lot of us choose a Word for the Year these days when we are creating our Vision Boards. A Word that we hope and plan will reflect our desires, dreams, visions and goals for the year ahead…
Many of us choose a word for the week, or even a word for the day. For myself, the word for the day is a small pebble that acts as a stepping stone towards the bigger Vision of the year word. All the myriad words daily, the daily intentions which add up, and create the focus for the year. Hopefully, well lived by the time we reach those end of year Celebrations! The small steps, and the ripples that lead up to the wave of the big one…. Especially, I find this powerful for myself where I am working towards creating some form of positive changes – within my own life and what I offer out into the world.
Last year, moving into December, one of the last “things” I crafted was a 2022 Diary for the workplace. A Kindness Diary. And in there I was moved to create space for “Word of the Day”. Not knowing who would be using it, whether this would be a useful tool or not for those people – it has a slant towards being created for people within business – or corporate backgrounds. It came out of a series of conversations around “How do we create or make space for more Kindness in Work Environments?” And, it was something that moved through me, asking to be created. Now, I have people asking about the Kindness Diary for 2023 – they’d already bought their diaries for 2022… And yes, I am planning towards that one, and others…
I worried that putting a “Word for the Day” space in would be too hippy, too not business, too much me really. Too “fluffy”. But hey, I did it anyway – because it was what spoke to me as right at the time, and my “responsibility” as I was crafting it…
And as a result of that Diary, there are conversations I am having – delicious morsels of insights into people’s lives, focussed around their “Word of the Day.” That intentional focus they put out into the world each day. And conversations about how they go about choosing it – This word of the Day. Or discover that that Word chooses them for the day… And, people are asking, how “Should” they choose their word of the day? Having these conversations with them – I feel the most delicious invitation to play unfolding within those spaces…
Who know, maybe I will craft a series of meditations or a “thing” about how to choose or be chosen by your word of the day? Or perhaps, I will simply smile, and continue to chase my child around the house, shaking a box of “Angels” – single words for the day – at him, and feeling into how they resonate with me, with him, throughout our day… And enjoying these conversations sparked within the circles rippling around me…
Oh, by the way, Just in case you are curious….. – My word for the Year is THRIVE. Supported by the phrase “Nourish to Flourish”. And my word for the day today – is PRESENCE. My child’s is HARMONY – which led to him walking out the house singing and making sounds after we got into harmony with a game of balloon volleyball in the lounge….
Heart. Soul. Earth. 