On Birthing a Word

and letting it shine...

Becoming Goddess Nourish Joy Breathe Worth

These have been the words that have accompanied me over the last six years.

I’m surprised to find that there are only six of them. The concept of having a word for the year was introduced to me when I found

Susannah Conway

and first completed (or attempted) her Unravel the Year workbook.

I’ve never managed to get in the habit of keeping up with it all year, but without fail I find my word. Usually this is an activity that takes place in the non-time between Christmas and new year when I am able to rouse myself from my cheese coma, but this year my word has been bubbling up earlier then expected.

I’ve tried to delay this birthing of my word; I’m not ready yet, I don’t have time or capacity to give it proper thought, but my word would not be stopped it was coming whether I was ready or not.

Eventually I surrendered to the inevitable when the Find Your Word mini course hit my inbox and made time and space to see what would emerge.

The words have always come at the time I’ve needed them, even if I didn’t think I wanted them.

Becoming supported me as I started working as a therapist, and allowing myself to take up space in my own life.

Goddess was the hardest word to live with. It came out of nowhere, in fact I remember having a very strong idea of what my word would be (although it alludes me now), but this definitely wasn’t it! this was the word for the year where I discovered yoga and a connection with my internal self, but also something larger and external.

Nourish was the word I needed after I’d experienced loss in many forms in 2019 and was deep in burnout. It supported me through my exploration of my neurodivergence, the pandemic and the start of long covid.

Joy felt like it had been missing for much of 2020 and I was determined to find the small and everyday joys in 2021, even through the challenges of health and work.

Breathe helped me to learn to slow down and regulate when I felt like I was constantly fighting with my body. It brought space to my year as I finally took the leap to give up my contracted work and gave myself permission to curate a life that worked for all the parts of me. It was the word that started me on the road to the tentative beginnings of recovery.

Worth was another surprise word, that helped me remember what I valued and to to use this as my guidepost, rather than getting caught up in what society thought was important. It also helped me to expand my business in a sustainable way as my health improved and my capacity increased. It stopped me from moving to fast, by reminding me what was important.

I wove each through my year in slightly different ways, recording my small joys on social media, literally learning to breathe again through breathwork, consulting goddess oracle cards and constantly asking what the worth was to me and confronting my relationship with money.

Many have stayed longer than their year and I still pick up their threads and weave them through, others are woven safely into the fabric of my life. I know I can go back and carry them forward if I need to.

I wasn't sure what I needed to take me into next year, so much has changed since worth came into my life. Part of me wanted something slow and passive to sink into, but another part wanted to be dynamic and active as we dove into new possibilities.

All sorts of words presented themselves, most making me feel uncomfortable as they all seemed to want to push me further from my comfort zone. I eventually had narrowed it down to three and was just waiting to see how they settled in relation to a each other when a fourth came to me in the small hours of the morning.

This years word is SHINE

It is both a noun and a verb which appeals to both the parts of me; it is something I can do as well as be.

It holds space for the work that can go into making things shine (shoes and silver) but also the things that shine because it’s in their nature (the stars and moon).

It challenges me to be visible, but acknowledges that it isn’t always easy.

(I wrote more about visibility in this post).

On being visible (or not)

And most importantly it is something that can be shared with others, a light that can illuminate those who haven’t found their own shine yet.

It is an invitation and it is permission,

To show up, to be seen, to shine…

I’d love to know about your words (past, present and future)