Re-Imagine 2022
No more resolutions. No grand declarations.
One Word 365 days of the year.
Welcome to 2022.
I really connect with the #oneword365 idea. In a nutshell, a one-word orientation invites us to think about what lies ahead as the calendar turns from one year to the next. Through journaling, some contemplative practices, self-reflection, and keen observations about what is going on in and around us, we become aware of a word, an idea, or a phrase that seems to show up with regularity.
In 2021, my one word was “Permission Granted”. I had been holding back for a while and I sensed that I needed to speak aloud this phrase over and over in order to untether myself from limiting beliefs about my identity, my innate wisdom, my worth, and my ideas around influence.
Here’s how this word showed up for me in 2021:
1. Permission Granted…to finish my second M.A. Degree. I hit a wall in 2017 and had 1 class, you heard me, one final capstone project to complete my M.A. In Christian Studies-Apologetics but I was burned out. I was exhausted emotionally, physically, and spiritually and put all my research in a box for 3 years. But I felt the nudged at the end of 2020 to complete what I had started 9 years earlier. So I did. I had some fresh inspiration, I kicked shame to the curb and worked really hard for 4 months to complete my final, creative, and I think, stellar project to receive my MA. in April 2021.
2. Permission Granted…to say goodbye to my mom and spend the year grieving this enormous loss. When my parents divorced in the late 1990s, I became my mom’s person, through default, through proximity, through devotion. Our lives were inextricably woven together, for better and for worse…and there were plenty of both. It felt both unfair at times and a unique privilege as well. So when she passed away relatively quickly and peacefully on Thursday morning, April 1st, I was thrust into the world of being a motherless child. I was able to hold her hand when she took her last breath. God, I miss her every day.
3. Permission Granted…to walk away from my full-time adjunct teaching job at TWU. The short story is…it was time for me to leave. The longer story is…there is a longer story. And it is surprising, and frankly not surprising. It is deeply connected to my values and how I am called to align my full self with who I believe I am called to be as a woman of faith, a leader of integrity, and a citizen of this beautiful, messy complex, and diverse world.
4. Permission Granted…to be fairly sad and often feel unproductive in the fall all while looking for new work, trying to figure out what I want to do next, taking courses in trauma-informed caregiving, online course development, mixed-media arts and level one in wines. I was also applying for jobs I was {mildly} interested in {and a few that were very interesting} and having several first interviews without a call back for a second. Ugh. Sigh. Exhale. Read. Swim. Re-connect with self. Re-connect with others. Sadness gave way to experimentation and play and having soul-filled coffees, lunches and zooms with stellar humans that I had been too busy previously to connect with. Permission granted to journey through an array of emotions sometimes daily on my way to dreaming new dreams.
Which brings us to 2022.
This year I clearly sensed that I was being invited to Re-Imagine everything I thought I knew…relationships, work, connection, the Divine, travel, health, flourishing, family. I am excited to see how this process will unfold, what markers will emerge where I can look back and say, “wow, look at how re-imagining ____ took on a whole new meaning or opened up a whole new way of looking at ____”. As I lean into this word, I know that I will be changed and challenged and it likely will be so very, very uncomfortable.
Friends, how do you enter into a new year? Do you like to mark the turning of the calendar with a goal, or intention? Do you sense what the new year will hold? Or would you rather pay attention to the rhythms you find yourself moving through?
I would love to hear where you are at and how I can encourage you or support you. Reach out and message me to connect. Leave a comment here in this post. Shoot me an email or leave a comment on Facebook or Instagram.
As a certified coach, maybe I can help. We can schedule a coaching session to explore your intentions for the year if you want to dig deeper or explore this idea further. Heck, we can talk about anything. And for the month of January, I am offering 45 or 60-minute coaching sessions for half price. Reach out if that interests you and we can chat about how I can come alongside you. Here is the link to my scheduling calendar https://calendly.com/brenda-lee-sasaki
I also find a connection with my #oneword365 peeps at this website https://oneword365.com/. They also have a Facebook group to connect with others throughout the year and share your word and how it is showing up or shaping you. Check it out. Take a look around.
