I Choose Joy
I don't always choose a word for the year, but when I do I really mean it.
My word this year is JOY, and it's working exactly like you want a word of the year to work. When I think of joy, it renews my focus. It reminds me what I intend for the year. It's practical and it's feelings-based - something required for pretty much everything I do in life.
The word came to me after the 2021 Christmas season. I have to tell you the truth. I'm not that great at Christmas. American Christmases are the worst for people who've converted to Minimalism Light (an amateur version of the real Minimalism in which I do it my way without much rigidity). I don't love the decorating, the shopping, the too-much-stuff of it all. I really, really don't like the pressure to bring the magic. What I mean is, for instance, I have a kid who did not have one thing on his list this year but still felt all the giddy anticipation of Christmas morning. This means he just expected the awesome to be there. I had to define the magic and bring it.
I tried hard. I decorated earlier than usual, thinking that would help. I did most of my shopping early, in person, at a great mall with a great friend. My Christmas mood was on point. Then I didn't do any shopping or decorating for two weeks or so, "last minute" arrived, and my mojo plummeted. I was back to hating the stuff, the expense, the deadline, the pressure - all of it. I finally realized what I need is a manifesto. I have one for a lot of other things (e.g., social media, day jobs, writing, values...). My Christmas Manifesto needs some work, but it was a relief to realize I could make one and that it might help me find the joy of Christmas easier next year. The whole fiasco helped me find my word for '22.
"Joy," I wrote on my New Year Notes, " - the Marie Kondo kind." Marie Kondo is the inventor of decluttering your home by keeping in it only the things that spark joy. Some people can't imagine feeling joy (or not) over a spatula. I have no problem with this. I adore the Marie Kondo method because finally there is something in life for which I am encouraged to be led by my emotions. This girl loves that permission very much.
In 2022, I'm applying the sparking joy method to everything - not just the spatulas. I'm applying it to how I spend my time, what I let myself worry over and plan, how I spend my money, what I bring into my house, and what I delete from it. When I think of my word, I think of the stuff, the energy, the peace of mind...and Christmas. In all of it: I choose joy.
It's going to be a fabulous year.
P.S. One thing sparking joy for me this year is writing more emails to my subscribers.
One a week - little ideas for the story of life. Sign up here to receive them.
Here's today's email if you want to see what they're like. ~sb