One Word

Last year, I heard about a little project called One Little Word . The idea is that instead of getting bogged down with goals and lists and resolutions (or, in my case, in addition to goals and lists and resolutions) you simply choose one little word as the focus for your year. So maybe 2011 was the wedding year. If you want to be more poetic, maybe beginning or commit or love could be used instead of wedding.  Maybe 2012 was the year of focus where you got your house all organized and your life all streamlined. And maybe 2013 was the year for health. You get the picture.

Over at the Ali Edwards website, there is a yearlong workshop that involves monthly tasks and weekly assignments and is heavy on scrapbooking. While I admit that I find the workshop intriguing, there is no way I was going to take that workshop. I'm just not. Instead, I decided to just steal the word for the year idea.

Last year, my word was JOURNEY. For obvious reasons. And while the concept of a journey was foremost in my mind in the planning and execution phases of my big hike, the idea of journey continued to stick with me even after I had finished. I felt like I was still on a journey of sorts, coming to terms with how I was changed as a result of the epic adventure, and where my life was going as a result. When I think of last year, I feel like I am immersed in a journey.

Rolling into 2014, I tried to see where my life was going and how I wanted the year to feel. What kept coming back to me was ABUNDANCE. 

ABUNDANCE is an interesting concept. On the one hand, it can call up images of stuff. Lots and lots of stuff. And like my blogging pal Diana, I hate stuff. On the other hand, the idea of abundance call call up images of vast rolling hills, endless trees in a forest, breathtaking views from a mountain top, the ocean. That's the kind of abundance I'm talking about.

Last year, when I spent 6 months with nothing but what I could carry on my back, I felt like I was surrounded  by abundance. Countless trees, rocks, flowers, bugs (boo!). Endless miles. More new friends than I ever made in such a short period of time. And I laughed more than I had in years. Abundantly.

What if my focus for the year was to hold onto that feeling even though I'm back in the "real world"? What if I could recreate that feeling without quitting my job and going out, Thoreau style, into the woods. What if I could get that feeling any time I wanted?

I'm not sure if it's possible. Maybe I'm just foolishly chasing a dream that will never come true. But I'm okay with that.

2014 is the year of ABUNDANCE!