Yesterday I mentioned my husband's practice of choosing a word that describes some aspect of the new year. In my travels around the internet, I'm finding this is not unique; a lot of people are doing it. It's new to me, not something I've thought of before. The other day though, I was reading this blog post. When I read "...when we live in a mess, we lose our sense of grace" it hit me; that was what I wanted from this new year. That was my word! Grace. I'm not talking about Amazing Grace here; I'm talking about elegance and beauty in my environment, in my manner of being, in my words and thoughts. These are traits I have to cultivate. For me this means approaching each day with respect for the day in front of me and for myself. I can show this respect by keeping my space neat and tidy, and by getting up in the morning and putting on nice clothes even if I'm staying home alone.
It also means learning not to get so irritated when things don't go exactly as I had planned. This is one that's not going well for me today (and many days). I need to find that safe, quiet spot in my head and act and speak from there. Searching for that sense of grace is going to be an ongoing project. I could hand letter a pretty card and post it up where I'll see it daily. Maybe make a few copies;)
Another focus for this new year is to rediscover my sense of self. It's so easy to lose that in the busyness and hub bub of every day. When I was with my mom, we spent hours reading through old letters to my mother from her mother and from others. These were fascinating to me; I felt the letters gave a back story to my life, as they were written when I was quite young and filled in information that I wasn't privy to back then. They told a story of our family and daily life. It was very interesting to me to read mentions of myself as a very young girl. In one letter, my paternal grandmother quoted my grandfather describing me, saying, "she's a dandy!" I want that too! I want to be a dandy this year. I want to give myself permission to reach back in time and be a precocious, curious, dazzled by the world child.
So that is my goal for this 2012, to be a dandy and live my days in grace. Let's all be dandies! What say you?
I love this! A dandy...haha :). Lucky you to have those letters :)
ReplyDeleteThose letters, saved in a loving way, tucked in drawers...that's what I think we'll be missing down the road. We've exchanged the grace of simple, thoughtful handwritten letters for the speedy rush of keyboards and e-mails.
ReplyDeleteGrace is a very fine word and aspiration.
xo