A word to savor for a year.
Day 9 for the journaling practice group: What word will you choose to use as a guide, talisman, and meditation focal point for 2012?
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Thank you to everyone who re-posted or re-Tweeted the original post on choosing a word for 2012. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to spend some time at the end of the year reminding yourself what your old word was, and seeing how it served you in 2011? It might also be a great time to warm up the new word, to see how it feels in your hands and heart.
To everyone who asked “how do I use the word?” here are some suggestions:
- Write it in your journal and date it, just so you can remember what it is. You are going to commit to it for a year, so keep it close.
- Write it on pieces of paper and leave it in places where you’ll find it–wrapped around your toothbrush, stuck to your cellphone, in a shoe you’ll wear this week. See what the word brings up in that moment you discover it anew.
- Write it on your calendar for the middle of the month. See how you are living your word.
- See how you can put your word into action, whether it is a verb or a noun.
- Watch yourself to see how the word shows up in your daily life.
- Do you use it as a shield or as a sword?
A great quote I heard watching the trailer for The Iron Lady. The words were put into the mouth of Margaret Thatcher, and while she may have never said them, they make a great quote about choosing your word:
““Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
Rita Ackerman made and photographed these inner critics. I liked her photo better than mine, so I am shamelessly using it.
Now for the giveaway: Leave your word for 2011 in the comments, and share your new word as well. Readers will then get great ideas for their word of the year. Everyone who leaves a word will qualify to win an inner critic with a mouth that zips shut. I’ll give away two inner critics, handmade by Rita Ackerman. Our international clients seldom get to participate. This time, if one of the winner of the random draw is international, I’ll splurge for the postage.
The winner will be drawn by random selection on Friday, Dec. 23, at 9 p.m. Arizona Time (GMT -7), and announced on Saturday, Dec. 24.
–Quinn McDonald is the author of Raw Art Journaling, Making Meaning, Making Art. (You get free shipping till Dec 31.)
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