One Little Word - January

Hi friends! How is your new year going so far?

In a blog post earlier this month I mentioned that I was signing up for One Little Word, a year long online workshop, taught by designer, blogger and teacher Ali Edwards.

I have known about One Little Word for a long time and always thought I would like to try it, and finally, I am! And I'm excited to share this journey with you.

The purpose of the class is to invite one word into your life that will act as a year long guide and an investigative tool. It allows you to concentrate on different aspects of daily experience and apply your word to real life situations. Each month there will be a new creative prompt to help bring your chosen word into focus.

For 2018 my word is BUILD. The reason I chose build is because it feels as if there is still so much more in life to accomplish. I am blessed in that I have a solid foundation on which I have already built my life - a comfortable home, a healthy and happy family, and employment. I now wish to utilize that foundation to grow independently and thrive in ways different than what I am accustomed to. I want to challenge myself to experiment with new ways of thinking and doing.

Build feels action oriented, creative, and encourages me to be self-initiating. Build has plasticity, allowing me to decide what form it will take in my life and give me the freedom I need to shape events. Build will help me to develop ideas into actionable steps and to learn how to expand and refine those ideas. With build I can incorporate my own unique style. And lastly, build has a cumulative effect - starting now I am giving myself the permission and the opportunity to engage with life in new and unexpected ways in order to expand on that which I have already established.

And it's going to be hard! Having now answered all the prompts for January, I am now rubbing up against the challenge of diving deeper into these questions: What do I want less of in my life? What do I want to let go of? What do I want more of? What do I want to invite into my life? I don't know if you are like me, but faced with having to sit down and think critically and objectively about such questions and the act of having to write something down on a blank card is a bit intimidating.

But necessary!

Another prompt for the class is to find a quote containing your word that resonates with you. I will close with this one I found by His Holiness the Dalai Lama:

With the realization of one's own potential

 and self confidence in one's ability, 

one can build a better world.

Thanks for reading!