Word for 2021

Today marks the day I first hit 'enter' to publish my first hopeful, reach out into the dark of the knitters' world blog post.  Sixteen years ago.  

The word of 2020 has been a smashing success.  I post this, faithfully, to remind myself of prior goals and commitments.  I suppose a marker of success is that the work has been transformative each year.  And in the predictable paradox, the efforts have always continued despite moving on to new word choices.

2015:  Presence
2016:  Resilience
2017:  None
2018:  Patience
2019:  Equanimity
2020:  Consolidation

Last year, I chose consolidation as my word.  I wrote

"Consolidation.  So much, in one word.  Consolidate the prior years' work from 2015 and forward.  Consolidate the various endeavors of my current life.  Organize stuff that needs organization.  Get rid of stuff that has outlived its purpose.  Get rid of stuff that no longer has relevance.  It is a fantastic word, because it refers to possessions, and papers, and inner life goings-on.  It also means not adding more things to consolidate." 

It has been a wild success.  Being home more meant examining my spaces, editing possessions, cleaning.  For example, I have tossed ~80 pounds of books and catalogues.  That gave me room to put all the knitting and spinning books in one place, and move stuff around so that the weaving area did not have to serve as both a weaving area and a spinning storage area.  

The inner life goings-on involved examining what was worth keeping and what needed to be left behind.  This one was predictably huge, and still a WIP.  

I continued the RTTB quest in the Stash Knitdown (Race to the Bottom of your Stash).  I had signed up to use 25,000 yards.  I achieved 40% of my goal and was content with that.  A new one starts 1/1/21, and my use of stash will continue.

So then, as the idea that life could be snatched away in the blink of a viral eye took hold, another word came to the fore.  I suspect I am late to the party on this one.  But I needed to have done the other words before I could do this one.  The seed was planted by BrainPickings.  She writes about

Joy.

"Choose joy. Choose it like a child chooses the shoe to put on the right foot, the crayon to paint a sky. Choose it at first consciously, effortfully, pressing against the weight of a world heavy with reasons for sorrow, restless with need for action. Feel the sorrow, take the action, but keep pressing the weight of joy against it all, until it becomes mindless, automated, like gravity pulling the stream down its course; until it becomes an inner law of nature. If Viktor Frankl can exclaim “yes to life, in spite of everything!” — and what an everything he lived through — then so can any one of us amid the rubble of our plans, so trifling by comparison. Joy is not a function of a life free of friction and frustration, but a function of focus — an inner elevation by the fulcrum of choice. So often, it is a matter of attending to what Hermann Hesse called, as the world was about to come unworlded by its first global war, “the little joys”; so often, those are the slender threads of which we weave the lifeline that saves us.

Delight in the age-salted man on the street corner waiting for the light to change, his age-salted dog beside him, each inclined toward the other with the angular subtlety of absolute devotion.

Delight in the little girl zooming past you on her little bicycle, this fierce emissary of the future, rainbow tassels waving from her handlebars and a hundred beaded braids spilling from her golden helmet...."

 

Joy as a conscious choice.  It is different from gratitude.  The source doesn't have to be a new one each time - there are no joy rules.  And there is further joy in that.  I will not belabor you with the things, big and tiny, that bring me joy.  But in this continuing pandemic, maybe I will post more often.  

Are you thriving? Surviving? Knitting up a storm?  Losing mojo?  I know I am just plain tired.

Thank you for playing along for so many years!

 

Comments

[Lynn]

So lovely to start a New Year with a post from you! Congratulations on 16 years of blogging and I hope 2021 brings you lots of joy!

[Caroline Gaudy aka FiberTribe]

I believe I've been reading your blog since the start or shortly thereafter. De-lurking to say, like Lynn, what a wonderful choice of word for the year and Happy New Year. and yes, I hope you'll blog more often. I love reading a blog that isn't necessarily selling something and I especially have enjoyed the way you see the world. Best to you.

[Carole]

Joy was the first One Little Word I ever chose and I learned some wonderful lessons that year. I hope you have a terrific experience with it. Happy New Year, my friend. I'm glad you're here.

[Caroline Morris]

It's always worth having something to aspire to so I wish you much success with "joy". Happy new year, may it be a joyful one for you and all your readers.

[Etherknitter]

I saw your joy a few days ago and realized i was late to the joy party! I am also glad that you are here! This reminds me I need to see what your word is this year. Happy new year!

L

[Claudia]

There are no joy rules. Nicely said. Its always great to hear...er...read your voice.

Wouldn't a nice meal out with friends, without worrying about dying because of it, spark some serious joy? I think so, and am hopeful for later this year.

[Elaine in NYC]

Happy blogaversary! Nice to see such a good post and agree with Claudia’s comments. Also wonder whether one of my 12/31 messages was “mental telepental.”

[Tim]

Joy in three words: String Cheese Incident.

[Margene]

If you have 16 years...well, since I gave up the blog 3 years ago...
At least I can say we met 16 years ago! Joy is a perfect word for follow "consolidation". And, in this strange and ever-evolving world, joy is in great need. We can only go forward if it is to find joy. Maybe later this year (or even next) we can enjoy a dinner in PC again!