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Monday, January 2, 2017

#sol 2017 MY huge OLW

I've done the OLW (One Little Word) challenge for the past few years and SOMETIMES the OLW just comes to you while other years I don't commit until mid-January! Some words (JOY, PERSISTENCE) have shaped their years and have become part of who I am in ways I could never have imagined when they were chosen! Thus I take choosing a OLW quite seriously.

I first started thinking of my OLW for 2017 back in December when I was on the treadmill watching a home improvement show about choices.  They shoppers talked about their hopes for their first home.  I listening and remembered being in their shoes, long ago.  I thought about my OLW as I made a few cookies hoping others would also make cookies as the volume was different than in years past. I began to question my choice when Lisa of TWT (Two Writing Teachers) wrote about her OLW, Breathe.  "What a great word," I thought aloud!  Hmmmmm.....

Then, yesterday, Facebook did a OLW challenge and based on pictures and posts, they suggested my OLW should be Noble!  "That is definitely not my word," I said as I googled the word assuring myself that there was not a hidden meaning that would make that word mine.

I rethought my OLW again when Melanie's of TWT' OLW was published.  "Yes, indeed," I thought, Brave could be my OLW......Hmmmmmm

So I guess the message is that there COULD be many words that COULD help shape this new year. Yet, the OLW I've chosen is strong, as I am becoming and will need to be in this new chapter of my life.  It has Biblical roots and it embraces a belief in what is not yet known.   My OWL can be described as the feeling of what is wanted and can be had but it is also a belief that events will turn out for the best, or at least the best they can be!  My OLW can also be a verb meaning to look forward with desire, confidence and trust.

My OLW, HOPE, is really not such a little word and right now it appears to be a BIG word to live by. Perhaps, this OLW is a lot bigger than me! Thus, even if it is too big for me right now, and even if I will just be working towards finding hope as a noun and using hope as a verb, it's mine.

As I get ready to share my OWL, I realize my OLW is HUGE.  It will be challenging, but I do hope, pun intended, to be kinder in my words and deeds as well as more generous with my tangible and moral gifts.  I hope to be kinder to myself as well as more accepting of others.  I hope to read, write, exercise, and say "yes"  more often.  I hope others will be kind to me as I journey on new paths and find new ways to interact and live with a new identity in a new community.  I hope to smile and laugh more and embrace to small moments of every day.  I hope to accept what I cannot change and change what I can.  I hope to embrace hope as my OLW this year!  

9 comments:

Ramona said...

Love this and all the ways you plan to hope in 2017. Great choice!

Michelle Haseltine said...

I agree. HOPE is a big word! I love that you are taking on the challenge. I can't wait to see where your HOPE takes you and those around you in 2017! Happy New Year!

Anonymous said...

I love your OLW this year! Because with Hope we can achieve great things! Awesome word!

Dogtrax said...

We all need more Hope, now more than ever, perhaps. I think you found a perfect word.
Kevin

BK said...

Perfect word. Loved the way you found it Anita and thanks so much for sending your pics for my video. So glad to have you always,
Bonnie

Alice Nine said...

Hope is a wonderful word, Anita. There is a proverb that says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life." In my own life, during a difficult time, this proverb helped me choose to embrace hope.

Linda B said...

I enjoyed hearing your process, Anita, and love "finding hope as a noun and using hope as a verb." It sounds as if this will be a year filled with good things in many ways. Happy New Year!

Terje said...

Hope is big. I liked your story of choosing/finding your word.

Tara said...

Hope IS big - and it sounds like just the word for you. Happy New Year, Anita!