It’s that time of year again; time to reveal my One Word for the New Year. I’ve been trying to think how many years I’ve been doing this now – at least 6, maybe more. Alece Ronzino, founder of One Word 365 says,
REMEMBER — YOUR ONE WORD IS INTENDED TO BE YOUR GUIDE, NOT YOUR HARSH STANDARD. IT’S NOT ABOUT DOING MORE, BUT ABOUT BEING WHO YOU WERE CREATED TO BE.
In a world where there are often too many words, I love the simplicity of just one word. That one word can take so many directions, mean so many things, apply to so many situations. In past years I chose words like; faithful, courage, and yes. My word for 2017 was joy, and boy was it ever a joy-filled year. I try to find ways to keep the word in front of me. Last year I made this banner that hung in my living room.
My word is quite a bit longer this year, and I’m not sure what kind of visual to create – particularly since hanging space is limited here in my tiny home, but I’m going to think of something.
So here’s the reveal. Drumroll please…. My word for 2018 is:
Adventure:
an exciting or very unusual experience; participation in exciting undertakings or enterprises: the spirit of adventure; a bold, usually risky undertaking; hazardous action of uncertain outcome; a commercial or financial speculation of any kind; venture.
to risk or hazard; to take the chance of; dare; to venture to say or utter: to adventure an
opinion
Truth be told, I’m not a very adventurous person by nature. I’d rather play it safe. I could probably be content to just stay at home and not venture too far away from my family. But as I have gotten older, I’ve adopted a bit more of a risk-taking posture. I’ve done things in the last 10 years that I never thought I’d do; I went back to school. I moved away from my hometown (only to move back again…) And, I moved (with my husband) into a 30 foot travel trailer as my semi-permanent home – to name a few. So far things are turning out quite well: not without their consequences and downsides, but overall, pretty darn good.
So, this is our year to discover what retirement is like. My husband, David taught music to middle and high school students for 45 years and was finally ready for a change of pace. I’ve wrestled a bit with the whole “retirement” thing. I don’t feel like I’m retiring from anything, just changing. I’ve quit a couple of jobs that I loved, but I didn’t “retire” from anything. I don’t like the word “retire.” To retire means to withdraw. I’m not doing that. Not now, hopefully not ever. Retiring (in the traditional sense) seems like such a waste of some of the best years of a life. Just because I don’t have a “job” doesn’t mean I want in any way to withdraw.
All that being said, there are a few perks to not having to get up in the morning and “go to work.” I don’t mind at all that the alarm doesn’t go off at 5:00 a.m. most days. I can go visit my kids and grandkids pretty much whenever I want. I can dream of and implement new ways to love and serve my family, friends and community since I’m not constrained by a silly old job. The downside is that there is a financial adjustment. But, that in itself is part of the adventure.
So this is a year of adventure. We’re going to do quite a bit of traveling since that is one of the perks of this stage of life. There’s so much to see in this great country of ours (and beyond I hope.) You won’t find us spending too much time in any one place, but always coming back home. Our first adventure is set for 10 weeks on the road through California and into Arizona. I’m not terribly excited about being away from the grandkids (and their parents, too of course) for that long, but it’s David’s first year of freedom, and it’s what he wants to do.
So here’s to 2018 and a year of adventure. Like any of the words I’ve chosen in the past, I will probably find that there are layers of meaning to my OneWord that are yet to be discovered. But that, too is part of the adventure.
“Never forget that life can only be nobly inspired and rightly lived if you take it bravely and gallantly, as a splendid adventure in which you are setting out into an unknown country, to face many a danger, to meet many a joy, to find many a comrade, to win and lose many a battle.” –Annie Besant“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” –Mark Twain
Autumn Gospel 