What’s in a word?

Good morning! I am running around like a crazy person trying to get some dusting done, laundry caught up and me ready to head out the door ON TIME for work…because…new year equals new leaf attempts. 

I am mulling over this whole “one word” thing and I know you all are just sitting on the edge of your seats waiting to hear more about my word last year…okay maybe not…but here we go with a quick observation and then I am outta here!

I mentioned last year and again yesterday about this word “simplify.”

It kind of sounds like simplicity, which is so out of reach for me I can’t even imagine that one. 

I will most likely overthink everything til Jesus takes me Home or I totally lose all mental faculties. 

I am wired to ponder and add layers to thoughts and activities, and I am somewhat drawn to shiny things.

Also, since I have the heart of a story teller by nature, I would be short on material if I lived without the unending complications I encounter just navigating a day. 

Case in point, I just googled the word “simplicity” to enhance our conversation and I was immediately taken to the website for the Simplicity pattern company. This transported me back to Junior High Home Ec class…and it is with great effort and discipline that I am logging out of that rabbit trail and looking for the definition!!!

So…simplicity: the quality of being easy to understand and do

Yes – this is not me. 

I don’t understand things easily. 

I am often an enigma to those who love me most.

I do not go about any task the easy way. 

I make a lot of work for those same people who love me most. 

So while “simplicity” may be a stretch, I CAN CHOOSE to simplify along the way. 

To simplify is a process, and I am all about processes. 

The very name of this blog is “Journey Onward” because it’s about the fact that we are all making our way along a path.

Step by step.

And while I am prone to want lots of rest breaks and detours to scenic spots…and while I grouse about other times when I must deviate from the quickest route due to construction and delays…it is all part of the way I am taking through this life and the people who are walking alongside me in different seasons. 

And sometimes I tend to focus on the wrong things at crucial times. 

That is where I grew a little through employing my One Word last year.

I can look back and see where I let go of some of my perfectionism issues…where I challenged myself to look at the big picture instead of micro-micro-managing the teeny tiny details of how I did things.

I got brave and left the house with a hat on some days when the errand needed to be run. 

I learned to think less about what every one else might be thinking. 

Oh, this is huge. 

I forced myself to make quick decisions on totally unimportant things like what to order off a menu and what was really essential to throw in an overnight bag. 

If you don’t struggle with over thinking, none of this sounds like much…but to me…it was kind of a big deal to realize I survived just fine and lived to order and pack again. 

So there you go…my synopsis of last year’s word. 

And just in time to post and head out to work.

Bam! 

Have a good day and I will see you tomorrow!