In my church, First Parish (Unitarian) Church of Groton we have so many traditions that unite us as a community of caring people. We have the annual water collection, where over the summer we collect water from someplace …. It can be exotic, such as from a jungle stream, or as simple as rainwater that fell in our garden. In church, on one of the first Sundays in late summer. there is an opportunity during the service to come up front, say a word about the water’s origin, and pour your water into a bowl that is later sterilized and used as our ‘holy water.’ This water is used in ceremonies throughout the year such as blessing babies, animals, honoring funerals and weddings, and most likely more that I am not aware of.
Another tradition we have is that in the beginning of the new year, we select a ‘word for the year’ in place of a resolution. I have been doing this for about 14 years (my list of words is attached here).
Every hear I pick a word that I feel I can learn from. This year, as I was struggling with the challenges of my previous job and stressing about a lot of different things that were out of my control. I considered a few options for my word. I narrowed it down to two: ‘Acceptance’ and ‘Devotion.’
Acceptance appealed to me for various reasons, but I decided on Devotion. Devotion ‘spoke to me.’ Now, at 10 months of living with the word, I have learned so much. I learned that without devotion to self you cannot devote yourself to others. I learned that by being devoted to my own endeavors I have more to give to others. It feels like self-love propells me forward.
As with so many of my experiences picking a word and living with it for a year, there is always a key moment that is like an epiphany. This year is was the glioblastoma tumor that turned my life around. If you have read my blog posts, it may be clear as to what I’ve learned.
Once I decide on my word, I write it on a post-it note and put it on my computer to remind me to be open and see what comes up. I have to make a conscious effort to remind myself about it from time to time because I can forget as the note disappears into the background of my life.
There may be more to learn even as the monthis of the year are waning but I am hopeful to choose a new word soon and see what I can learn about it. Many of my friends have adopted this tradition. If you do take it up, I forward to hearing what you learn!