MY WORD OF THE YEAR FOR 2022
As I prepared for 2022, I gave thought to what my word for the year would be. Last year’s word was Courage, and that word served me so well to help me get through a pretty tough year.
The word that dropped in for me this year was Ease. It’s a word that hasn’t left me and I’ve been sitting with this word for a few weeks now and contemplating how this word will help guide me through this year.
At first, I thought the word meant easy, but now I know it’s not easy. It’s ease. And there’s a difference.
Easy is a passive word and suggests that there will be no challenges, difficulty or effort whereas ease refers to the flow of being on an aligned path and being comfortable with that path.. That state of being actually requires effort.
The opposite of ease is dis-ease and after being diagnosed with breast cancer for a second time last year, living my life with ease is now my #1 priority.
Something that the pandemic and world turmoil taught me was how much I started to worry about things that were completely out of my control and not fully trusting the path I was on. I spent most of last year feeling very uncomfortable.
I am the person who will over-think and try and control everything. My friends don’t call me team captain for nothing.
So, as we neared the end of 2021 and no clear direction of where 2022 was going to go, I knew something needed to change, I didn’t want to feel so uncomfortable with what was happening in the world, so I just started telling myself “let it be.” I stopped telling myself that things felt uncertain and hard, and focused more and more on living in the present moment. I reminded myself that worrying about a future that hasn’t happened yet only creates anxiety and worrying about the past is a complete waste of time and energy.
I also reminded myself that I don’t have to constantly strive to do more, be more, produce more and that my success and worth is not defined by how productive I am. The word ease for me still has this feeling that I won’t work as hard or do as much and so ease and worth are still somewhat tangled up. It’s definitely a work in progress so I’m hoping that my word this year helps me untangle myself and sets a clear intention for the year to come.
To allow ease into your life requires faith and trust. Running a retreats business over the last two years has required a whole heap of faith and trust! Ease for me will be less worry, hustle and self-judgement and more mindfulness and a presence of mind that my path is being guided by something greater than me and that all I have to do is set the vision, trust the process and allow my journey to unfold and be at one with the flow of life.
2022 is my year to fully lean into my purpose, embrace the ebb and flow of life, trust in the work and effort that has brought me to now, surrender to what I cannot control and enjoy the beauty of being right where I am supposed to be.
Here are 10 ways I’ll be living with ease this year:
1. I will put myself first and focus on what matters to me most (yes even with 2 young kids)
2. I will trust the flow of life and take action when the time feels right
3. I will find ways to be joyful during setbacks and will look for the blessings and opportunities that arise
4. I will make decisions from a place of love and abundance rather than fear or scarcity
5. I will make a positive impact through my work with ease and flow rather than striving and hustling
6. I will embrace the richness and beauty of life, just the way it is
7. I will simplify my life and let go of things that no longer bring me joy
8. I will find more time to just be, rather than always feeling the need to be productive
9. I will completely let go of things out of my control
10, I will practice mindfulness and focus on being present every single day
