Connecting to JOY, ALOHA, BALANCE and ....

And I wait.

Every year. I wait.

I wait for that one little word to show itself.

Every year.

First, was CONNECT in 2012.  I didn't write publicly about that one. But I think it made an impact on me :)

In 2013, JOY came to me over our family's Christmas celebration.  JOY visits me daily. And I find I don't have to look for it much any more. JOY just shows up and I am smart enough to enjoy those moments.

• Writing JOY
• JOY after tragedy
• Family JOY
• Choosing JOY

At the end of 2013 my husband and I traveled to Hawaii with his sister and her husband.There were so many wonderful moments in that trip.  I kept a travel journal to remind me of the little moments that I never wanted to forget.  Two years later, I still look back on that trip as a life changing experience.  And on the last day,

ALOHA

 found me for 2014. I practiced my word whenever I could. I found that JOY joined in and that my one little words were forming a family.

• Remembering ALOHA
• Forgetting ALOHA

I learned to live ALOHA so well, that I was afraid to try on a new word for 2015. I was sure I would come up with one. But you know what? If you pay attention to the moments in your life, that One Little Word just appears in your life one day. And so it was, that BALANCE showed up just in time for 2015.

It wasn't a sexy word, but it was the word I needed at the time. I tried to slow down and enjoy every moment. You see, school and work were taking more of my time than I really wanted to give.  I was ignoring and putting off the other important parts of my life. I need to find a way to give equal parts of myself. I needed to enjoy moments in each part of my life without feeling guilty about the other parts.

• BALANCING life
• Celebrating BALANCE

Sometimes, I think that I didn't do so well with BALANCE. I feel like there is still work to do with this word. But as with the others, I know it hasn't left me. It just sits back and lets the new word enjoy the spotlight, enjoy the MOMENTS.

My One Little Word for 2016:

MOMENTS

It seems to fit my family of words well. In the last few days, it has just appeared in my mind. Making me think. Reminding me to enjoy it. Reminding me to not dwell in the past nor gaze into the future. To just enjoy the here and now. The MOMENTS.