word of the year

The word of the year is an annual ritual you can do. For me it is about setting a tone on what I desire for the New Year. Last year I chose the word empowering. That was the feeling I was calling in for 2021. The one of feeling empowered by my decisions and life.

As the year grew older, I completely forgot about my word for the year. It wasn’t until my dear friend, Lucie asked me what my year of the word was. My mind went blank.

Later it came to me: my word was empowering, I recalled.

My first thoughts on why I forgot my word for 2021 was that I must have embodied it. Little did I know that I would be shown how much I actually embodied it.

Before Christmas I listened to a podcast episode on ancestral healing and family constellations which I really loved. It has been a while since I sent anyone a podcast because often I would receive the feedback that they don’t have the time to listen. But I felt called to forward this to my family, so I did.

At Christmas, for the first time in probably years I barely felt triggered. Even when I did feel triggered, I felt more centered and present within my body and could move through the emotion quickly. And then something quite surprising happened: my family thanked me for sending them that podcast episode. Since we probably all felt how peaceful Christmas had been. Not that we experienced drama every year either.

I asked myself what had changed?

Then my word of the year came into mind. That was my intention and overall vibe I was calling in, and the funny thing was that when I thought of empowering I had another picture in my mind. I pictured it myself to be empowered by my choices and living a life according to my values. Which I am doing in many ways. But little did I know that by empowering myself, I would create healthier boundaries in my relationships.

I reflected on the past year and it was actually tied in with a lot of lessons of practicing the art of placing boundaries that used to be hard for me to do in the past. I had to hold up a mirror to others when I didn’t feel respected or valued.

Speaking up when I felt hurt was really hard for me. I used to grow silent and resentful instead of speaking my truth, since this was never modeled to me growing up what open and honest communication looked like.

What I want to say is that it is rarely about the final outcome of what we desire it to be. It is more about the journey in between and what happens in the middle that molds us into who we need to be and not what we want to be.

Now looking back I love how my word came to life in its very own way, especially in unexpected ways. A word rarely has only one meaning. The Universe rarely leads us astray. It is usually our mind with its attachments to outcomes and expectations that does. So, let's leave room for what the Universe wants to show us.

This year the word I chose for 2022 is abundance. I am calling in abundance on all levels in my life.

Let’s see how that will manifest in the expected and unexpected ways.

What is your word for 2022?

Happy, healthy, and holy 2022!