Seed

A couple of days ago I found this One Word: 365 concept (see previous post).  After much thought I decided on the word...

In November I attended the annual TAGT conference in Dallas, Texas.  I attended a session presented by Dr. Patricia Gatto-Walden, Meaning Through Service. Lots of great information shared, many comments that made me think. One in particular, "Weed Garden or Seed Garden," really made me think about the obstacles in my life that hold me back.  Her analogy (in my paraphrased notes), when we find the weeds in our garden, we pick it out and throw it away, but the weeds grow back.  To keep the weeds from coming back over and over, the gardener has to plant a seed, and the seed will grow and strangle out the weeds.  She continued, our mind is much the same, when we have a negative thought, we don't really think about it... but slowly that "weed" takes root and begins to grow - it affects our emotions, our bodies (pain, depression, fatigue) and eventually takes over.  We have to "weed" our gardens! Get rid of the negative thoughts... but like the weed in the garden, it doesn't go away, it comes back and back.  We have to plant "seeds (positive thoughts/affirmations) in order to strangle the "weeds" from our garden.

This is where I got my word.  I debated between seed and garden, and settled on the word seed because not only do I want to "weed" my garden, but I also want to plant "seeds" in others' gardens to help "weed" theirs as well.  So, I resolve to plant a "seed" every day.   When folks are down, I can plant a "seed" of encouragement. When someone makes a negative comment, I can plant a "seed" of positivity.  When some needs help, I can plant a "seed" of knowledge or resource or assistance.

As Dr. Gatto-Walden said in her presentation: 

If you want to change your life, you need to weed your garden. You have to plant an affirmation that's truth (seed) to kill out the weed.  A SEED of awareness!! Turn the "trash" to "fertilizer.

One Word

I happened upon One Word:365 on Twitter.  Several folks I follow kept talking about "their word."  I saw tweets and blog posts about "their word."  So, I finally followed a link to see what this One Word:365 concept was about.

The basic concept: rather than all the resolutions (which we all break) you just choose One Word that and focus on that word for the next year.  Reading through the comments on the website, there is a huge variety of words. There are what I would think of as typical words to focus on daily: truth, love, challenge, persevere, heart.  But then, I've also come across some that I thought were a bit more intriguing.

Release - I'd have never thought of this word, but it really spoke to me when I read it.  Letting go is so hard, whether it be letting go of a loved one, or letting go of something we can change.  I liked the idea of "release" as a word.  To just resolve to release all those things you have no control over, to finally let them go.  I like Release.

Inconvenience - I came across this one in a tweet, and it made me think.  Inconvenience is something that we all complain about.  Being put out by someone, having to wait, going out of our way.  But often these little inconveniences offer great reward, they teach us patience, they help us to give of ourselves when maybe we would have chosen a different path. I like Inconvenience.

Jump - I really liked this word! I think too often when opportunity comes along we hesitate.  Insecurity, doubt, fear - whatever the reason - and I just thought, when I saw this word, how my life might have been different if I'd just had the self-confidence to jump in and do things, even when I was afraid of failing. I don't like failing, I don't like disappointing others, I have this need to please everyone all the time, and jumping doesn't always do that... when you jump in, you mess up, you forget details, you disappoint.  But, you also never miss an opportunity.  I think this would have been a great word for my cousin, Brett.  Brett was the most likable person you ever met, but he was always getting "into trouble."  The thing about Brett though, was that no matter what trouble came along, he always bounced right back, and started over... and usually got in trouble again.  But he always lived life to the fullest.  He never missed an opportunity when it came along. He never did anything half-way. He lived every second of every day of his life.  He jumped.

Deeper - Deeper spoke to me because I think we have become a very shallow society.  I look at the world around me today and all the "things" we have.  People are judged/valued based on their "things." What shoes do you wear, what car do you drive, what mobile phone to you carry.  I feel we have stopped looking at who the person truly is, and only see them for what they have... and there are so many people who base their own value on "things."  Bigger houses, better cars, higher paying jobs. We need to start going deeper, past the surface, in many ways.

So, what is my word?  I don't know. I just happened upon this today, and I think I need to think about my word.  If you're interested, check out the website or search Twitter for #oneword365.