Hey friend hey! While many of us are still in holiday recovery mode, some are also looking ahead to resolutions and goal setting for the coming year. I am in the middle. I could seriously use a nap right this instance. Instead, I am working and mulling over my word for the 2019. I have shared with friends that my word for 2018 was REIGNITE. I chose it after analyzing the year 2016 when I let many things that I loved, fall to the wayside due to the busyness of life and a bout with depression (a little transparency here). I found myself primarily doing the things that I HAD to do to survive. Those things kept me busy but not fulfilled. When I selected REIGNITE after attending a class in 2017, it caused me to take action in a way that I hadn’t before. I began a quest to regain a connection to my passions like reading, writing, taking photos, and taking nature walks. I peopled a lot, making new friends and intentionally connecting with existing. I went to events alone (eek!) and I volunteered. I went back to the gym with a minimum goal of 30 minutes. That goal crept from 30 minutes to an hour very quickly. I also tried developing new skills like drawing and water coloring. I shared a good deal of my ventures via social media. For me, that was no easy feat. Through reigniting, I found that I still loved doing all that I had before and that I now had other passions into which I could tap. Who knew there could be so much meaning and joy from a little word?

In reviewing my year, and feeling exhausted from working and managing my Etsy shop (https://www.etsy.com/shop/thefabulousfennyl )– I realized just how easy it would be to stop all of it again. Instead, I asked myself what I needed to do to keep my passions ablaze and what extra push was required. I thought about fires and how they don’t just burn without the addition of a bit of fuel, some oxygen. The dictionary says adding the components to keep it lit as “stoking’. As a result, I have written out my plans and created associated tasks so I can cross them off upon completion. I have already put things on my calendar through March. I’m a loyal girl. If I tell you I am going to do something, it is happening. I understand that about myself and it is why I began saying NO more. I never want to look up and find myself so disconnected from my base that it is visually apparent that I’ve been absent and my tank is empty. Many people are ok with filling up every moment of their life with busyness but I like to leave room just in case I wish to linger in any particular space or activity. Sometimes the moment is just so good that you need to savor it a bit longer… like getting the last bit of batter from the cake bowl before it is washed.

In the meantime, I have lessened my time on social media and put my phone away so that I can be present, creative, laugh, and love- fully. That is just a bit of insight into why my word for 2019 is STOKE. Spending a year stoking the fires of all that is important to me will serve others and myself. Reporting the outcomes at the end of the year should be pretty interesting and exciting. However, no rush- we will get there, when we get there. Until then, I’ll just enjoy the journey and all that comes with it.

So, what is your word?