2020 Word-of-the-Year

delight

• n. Great pleasure; joy.
• n. Something that gives great pleasure or enjoyment.
• v. To take great pleasure or joy.

Every year I begin a new journal and choose a guiding word for the year. I used to pick up small sketchbooks at an art supply store, but they began to become more difficult to locate, so I began to use these nice little sketchbooks from Indigo seven years ago. The paper is nice for drawing on and, as I received a Waterman pen many years ago, I always look for nice writing paper and this fits the bill.  I use my journals to sketch, make notes, write out gratitude, keep my horoscope for the year and other little cards, doodle out my packing lists, and create to-do lists...I realized that I kind of use them like a Bullet Journal, but a little more creatively. This, along with my wall calendar tends to keep me organized (even though that wasn't the initial intention) and is a wonderful spot to capture creative ideas. I also tend to work through questions in my mind just by writing them down and also writing down my options. The tradition was based on something I read by musician Christine Kane many years ago and I've since learned that it began in Germany as 'Wort des Jahres'.  I've found the practice to be monumental in my life.  Such a small gesture that is such a great guide.

Anyway, I've decided that this new year's word is 'Delight' - the past few years have been a little heavy and now that my husband & I are empty nesters, we've been doing a bit of travelling (both near and far) on our own...it's fun to have fun again. I'm learning to let go and allow more just to happen in my life. I just want to be grateful for every opportunity and for those small precious moments, and also to remember to focus on delight. To see and read more about previous journals, please visit last year's post here.