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Word, Words and More Words

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sacred-spaceFor the past few years, I’ve done like many people and gone with a “word of the year” in lieu of quickly abandoned New Year’s Resolutions. You’d think my typically distracted brain would appreciate that approach, but sometimes it’s hard to keep even that one word in front of me.  And this year, too many words seem to be jumping out at me. So, in conjunction with the “Lifebooking” system I’ve adopted, I’m leaning towards a focus on a different word (or two) for each month.

True story: I’ve never been able to make a planning system work for me. As in not.ever. Period. I can be so task-oriented, before I know it, the tasks morph from a list into a whip, wielded by a mean task master (yours truly), snaking themselves around my days, and subsequently sucking the life and creativity right out of me. So I end up just winging it . Which can be equally counter-productive as I try to deceive myself into believing “creative” equals “no list.”

But something clicked in my brain as I read through Mandy’s introductory emails and beyond: a planning system will never work for me! It’s not a fairy godmother swathed in a e-ring binder promising to swoop in and transform my messy days into something a whole lot prettier.

Duh. I have to do the work. I have to sit down and do the brainstorming, mind dumping, soul-searching, and dreaming. I finally realized: It’s not about the lists. It’s about the life. The life I want to live. The life I’ve been given, with all its potential and strengths and weaknesses.

And so I allotted myself the entire month of January to “get a grip.” It sounds crazy but it’s been amazingly cathartic to step back from a few things (after the craziness that was 2014) and fill my Moleskine planner and notebooks with lists of dreams and ideas and projects and favorite words and so on. And throughout this month, two words rose to the surface: “new” and “rhythms.”

New” reminds me that God is in the renewal business, in the process of making all things new (he does not waste anything). And “rhythms” –as opposed to “routines” (which I’d define as repetitive series of actions, bordering on or leading to mindlessness) –rhythms are lifegiving ways of paying attention and living in full, moment-by-moment awareness and dependence upon God.

And one of the most important rhythms I’ve become aware of is the need to spend time each day reviewing, reflecting, dreaming, praying, and planning (not necessarily in that order, although I do find that clearing my head first makes praying a bit easier). Not that I haven’t done any of this in some manner over the years, but it just seems to make sense now. After almost thirty days of implementing these morning and evening times, they’re almost starting to feel as essential as my morning cup of coffee. They’re offering me space to catch my breath and refocus on what really matters. They’re helping me live in a more connected way throughout my day.

There are many more words dancing around in my head right now. Piles of them, actually, some waiting to be strung together in blog posts that will likely not ever materialize. Some standing alone, just begging to be explored more deeply. But for now, I’m going to just hang with these two and enjoy what’s left of January.

Conversation: Are there any words you’re “listening” to right now?

P.S. If you’re interested in learning more about the morning/evening thing, check out this little PACE book by Mandy Thompson . . . print, cut, fold, think, write, GO!

 


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