Grace has been defined as the outward expression of the inward harmony of the soul.
~ William Hazlitt ~
Late in 2009, I was in transition and at the beginning stages of quite a few different things … living in a brand-new area, becoming a single homeschooling mom, starting a new business, and settling into the role of my mother’s caregiver.
During that adjustment period, I found a tool which has proven invaluable time and time again in helping me establish a sense of focus amidst chaos; especially when it comes to planning for the new year ahead. Instead of making New Year’s resolutions, I have picked a new word (or phrase) to serve as a touchstone for the upcoming year.
Picking a word for the new year has never been easy. I usually start playing with words in the fall and try them on for size. I go through quite a few before I land on something that makes me squirm.
Now, you might be asking yourself … why would squirming be a prerequisite for a word of the year?
I answer it this way — a comfort zone is a beautiful place; however, nothing ever grows there. Being uncomfortable is actually an opportunity to learn and grow. So, my word of the year has been something that would help me move on to the next step in my life’s journey, which means stepping out of my comfort zone.
My word of the year choice for 2019 certainly does that.
Grace
“Grace” is an unusual word. I remember hearing growing up that I had about as much grace as a bull in a china shop. But grace isn’t just about being agile, delicate, adroit, or lithe. Grace has many different meanings, and several will challenge me during 2019, specifically:
- Ease and suppleness
- The quality or state of being considerate or thoughtful
- To confer dignity or honor on
- Adorn, embellish
These definitions I have chosen because I can be incredibly hard on myself — as a woman, mom, daughter, entrepreneur, family member, friend, coach and teacher. Trying to balance all these roles is an enormous project and quite frankly, impossible. Believe me I have tried, with no success. So something has to give.
I am still in perfectionism recovery. I tend to live in fear of doing the wrong thing, fear of not living up to standards, fear of people thinking I am stupid, fear of disappointing people … and the list can go on and on.
I need GRACE in my life, reflected by me, to me. I desire ease and suppleness to come from the inside out. I want to be thoughtful and considerate of various judgement errors. I want to honor the choices I make and follow through with dignity. With all my responsibilities, I have let go of adorning and embellishing myself in any way and want to get back spending time on small things, such as make up and doing my hair.
::giggle::
While doing further research on the word ‘grace’ I discovered its etymology comes from the Greek word ‘charis’ which means ‘a gift’. Interestingly, both ‘gratitude’ and ‘grace’ originate from the Latin root ‘grata’ or ‘gratia’ meaning ‘a given gift’. Grace is specifically defined as ‘a gift freely given that is unearned’.
I like there is a sisterhood between the two words — grace and gratitude.
Cultivating Grace will help me:
- Simplify life and its many changes
- Find my center before I make a move
- Search for stillness and immerse in it
- Detox from life aspects that don’t serve me
- Learn to let go and let be
Talk about moving out of my comfort zone!
What about you? Have you chosen a Word of the Year? If not, I am providing a worksheet which might help you discover your Word/Phrase of the Year. It can be accessed by clicking here.
P.S. Additionally, you may want to augment and complement your Word of the Year with a song, picture, quote, biblical passage, phrase, artwork, yoga pose, etc. The sky is the limit here, whatever floats your boat and helps you stay grounded.
Personally, I have chosen a song to help me center … “I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack. Further, I have selected a biblical quote by Paul: “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.“
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