Word of the Year Big Reveal

Ahhh…the last sunset of 2021. I was at Balboa Island with my husband spending a quiet, rejuvenating New Year’s Eve. We were staying at a home his Uncle Gordy and Aunt Juanita built many moons ago. It is right along the bay front on the peninsula side of Balboa. We took a ferry (at the old fashioned price of $1.25 per person) over to Balboa Island and walked around the town for a bit. By the way, the Ferry has been continuously serving residents and guests since 1919! The Christmas lights were still up and it was quite lovely. Each home is unique and interesting in its own way. On Marine Street, there are many quaint shops and restaurants so it is like stepping back into Americana on this strip of land. Now, more than ever, a little bit of innocence never hurt anyone!

But back to the New Year: 2021 was a lot of fun, right? I am actually of the belief that it was a good year, despite some of the inherent challenges of being in the middle of a pandemic/mass panic/hoarding toilet paper/etc. Personally, I am taking better care of myself now more than ever. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, or so the saying goes. I bought a Fitbit and use it 90 percent of the time. My goal is to hit the magical 10,000 steps. Only I usually average around 7,000. Vitamins C, D, and Zinc are my daily companions. I have also been reading a lot, and journaling, two of my favorite ways of decompressing. Oh, and we went to a few wine tastings. 🙂

One of the best things I have stumbled upon is meditating using an app called “Insight Timer.” I absolutely love it! (This is not a paid promotion, by the way!) The way the app works is you can choose a meditation based on your interest — motivation, power of attraction, overcoming anxiety — or just quietly meditate selecting sounds you enjoy. Some of the meditations are long, some are only a few minutes. If you are busy but still want a positivity boost, then a five minute session of affirmations is a possible choice. Admittedly, on the longer meditations I sometimes fall asleep. (Don’t tell my feisty subconscious this fact, though, for if I snooze then it has the tough job of deciphering and applying that day’s lesson.)

I think 2021 brought out a lot of anger in people. I definitely noticed it on social media with people saying mean things to each other and unfriending people because of political alliances/vaccine mandates/your cat videos suck/global warming, etc. Pick a topic, any topic, and I guarantee you someone lost a friend or family member over it. “WTF!“ became an internet mantra. I also experienced anger while driving and being cut off a few times. Arghhhh! It is no wonder, then, that I am now seeing “Be Kind” signs everywhere. Let’s put our carved in stone opinions aside and find nice, more malleable ways to communicate. In other words: BE KIND, DAMN IT!

I am not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. They make me feel like I’ve got a mountain to climb! A huge, towering obstacle to trudge across miles of rocky, snowy, frigid, no hot food, Himalayan terrain…you get the gist. Instead, my fear of heights soul has opted to choose a word that embodies a direction, a softer sensibility. This is a subtler, more user friendly way (I’m a chicken) for me to channel all of my goals and dreams.

Last year, my word was “Enchantment.” With this word, I was aiming to feel a lightness of being. It was a little hit and miss, lol, but I tried to make the most of each day and find the sacred in the mundane. Enchantment looked like this: taking long walks while listening to music, meditating consistently, cooking good food, napping with my cats, watching and discussing good shows on Netflix with my husband, decorating my work area, driving to Ventura/Ojai/Santa Barbara whenever possible, etc. You get the picture. We even went to Arizona in the summer, in the middle of a heat wave. Enchanting, indeed, especially in the early morning when it was only 110 degrees! But I crossed off both floating down the Colorado River (I was terrified!) and visiting fascinating Tombstone from my bucket list — whoo hoo! (Also, Bisbee and Tubac were seriously enchanting even in scorching heat.)

This year my word is…drum roll, please…SERENITY.

Serenity: the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled. Like this Egret who has carved out a fish catching niche on the Newport Beach pier.

The emphasis on serenity is to keep doing those things (such as meditating, walking, reading, Netflixing, writing, cooking) that help me feel calm and centered amidst the chaos. Heck, for some of you, serenity might entail rock climbing and scuba diving! Focusing on serenity will hopefully bring my cholesterol levels down, help me shed a few pounds, keep me writing regularly, travel here and there, and give me strength to pursue whatever it is I choose to do this year. You see how I am using a word to skirt around making resolutions? Hehehehehe. Whatever you do, please don’t tell the truth to my subconscious.

Here are a few more serene photos from my recent weekend in Newport Beach:

Wishing you all a healthy, happy, kind, wealthy, and meaningful 2022! If you choose a word to frame your year, please let me know! I would love to hear from you!

P.S. I am experimenting with being an actual paid blogger. If you love what you read, or even if you find it mediocre, your contributions are appreciated beyond measure! Thank you! Cheryl