It’s been a very eventful year, 2016. You’d agree, especially if you’ve followed the news and/or been on social media these last 12 months. I came away from the year with plenty of lessons under my belt, some of which I blogged about under my 10 lessons from 2016.
The Word of the year concept was one I used in 2015, to set the tone for the year ahead. It’s not a goal or a resolution, as such. Think of it more as a way to attract the emotion evoked by that word.
I came across this concept of a Word for the entire year for the first time on Laurel Regan’s Blog.
As firm as I am to have no resolutions for 2015, the idea of just a word to govern the outcome of a whole year seemed both feasible and fascinating! I hadn’t really given any serious thought to the idea at all. But, on the first of January, 2015, I came across three things which made it obvious that this must be my word for the year.
The first was of course, Laurel’s own post about her word of the year. It started with the words, ‘Happy new year.‘ Well, nothing earth-shattering about that. It WAS the first of January. But, the whole post gave off this comfortable and warm feeling of happiness. It was just meant to be.
Then, I read a post by Vidya Sury who has decided to start two new blogs this year on the theme of health and happiness. Her post was titled Gratitude but the very second sentence said ‘Gratitude=Happiness‘! I was so compelled and intrigued by the repetitive motif that I was beginning to wonder if there was a pattern here!
Finally, that night, I was chatting with my close friend and confidante, Aparna, who sold me on the idea of The Happiness Project. As I read the first few pages of that e-book, it dawned on me. This writer was talking about me, to me and through a book! The fact that this third sign came from a friend whom I consider more a soul-sister than anything else, sealed the deal for me.
So, that did it!
I have my Word of the Year and it is HAPPINESS!
Sounds so simple, doesn’t it? But it isn’t! It can be very challenging to stay happy all year long. I don’t mean the bounce high, leap off the shelf kind of happiness. I mean the quiet contentment that comes from waking up to see another day or watching the dew drops on a flower at the crack of dawn or just that silence that comes from realising that nothing is so bad that you cannot fix it.
Yes, that’s what I am going for this year. I sincerely hope that my circumstances will never compel me to say that I was NOT happy. Ever.
Here’s to Happiness- in writing, in parenting, in friendships, in love and in new challenges.
So, do you have a Word of the Year picked out?
Do you want to have one?
Either way, be happy. It’s your right.
If you DO have a Word of the Year, write a post about it and link it up with Laurel’s post here.
