A Guiding Word
My tradition for the start of the new year has become attending Estelle Thomson’s Sparkly New Year workshop with my dear friend Tami. In the year 2022 I chose the word Courage to guide 2023, which I lived when I boarded a plane for Kenya as my first time leaving Canada. This past year, I chose the word Visible. Or, I should say it chose me.
The thing is, I had no idea what my word would be when I entered Estelle’s workshop on the first day of 2024. My word ended up being one that chose me loud and clear. Funnily enough, I was triggered to consider the word because in a group circle which was part of the workshop, I had things to say but kept being spoken over, so didn’t get to say them. Which, is on me, not the people in the group, and has been a reoccurring theme for me most of my life.
I speak quietly, and I wait my turn, which very often doesn’t come because of this approach. My new word “Visible” was about much more than being heard in a group though.
For the year 2024 my word came up so many times. It came up when I was given an opportunity to facilitate a 2-hour workshop for my team at my job, about recognizing and making your own strengths known to others and also appreciating and honoring the weaknesses of others to create a balanced team. I had been around amazing facilitators my whole career at my previous job but any of them reading this will be surprised that I stepped up and facilitated on my own. In that moment not only was I seen for a skill and knowledge that I have, which maybe had been a surprise to my coworkers, but I also more importantly saw myself.
I think people’s desire or need to be seen, to be“visible”, is very common. I mean, have you been on social media lately? We all have different reasons for it, and varying degrees of what that looks like for us.
I also think that there is so much that holds us back from allowing ourselves to be seen, or allowing us to see ourselves. As I was writing about my trip in Kenya on my personal Facebook page people were telling me I should write a book. A big part of me agrees with them, but another big part of me doesn’t want to be seen as showy. I know I need to get out of that mindset. Other people have incredible adventures too and don’t plaster them all over the world. But also, other people have less interesting adventures and write about them too. I feel this strong desire to share all of the things I learn, at the same time either shying away from the public or allowing imposter syndrome to weigh heavy on me. My word of the year had me reflecting on this over and over.
I also had a moment this year where I got a little tired of conforming to the ideas of another person and I spoke up loud and clear about it, and I finally felt seen in that moment. And I also felt strong.
Following this, I was interviewed for a national tv show that I grew up watching and… wait, what? Did that really happen? Surfside Studio Tour which I co-founded and organize with the help of a small committee garnered the attention of CBC Land and Sea and they dedicated an entire episode to the tour. I was interviewed about the tour, and I didn’t shy away from the interview, an opportunity I would have normally refused. And soon, you can all watch the episode on tv. (If you sign up for my newsletter I will share it there when I have the link). All the hard work that goes into that tour has been seen by so many people, and will be seen by so many more!
But that was kind of small potatoes compared to the thing that happened to me while I was in Kenya this year. While I was in the middle of a safari ride, to see a very specific and very special elephant named Craig, I opened my phone to see the time and there was a FB message notification. It was a message from an elementary school friend who had been following my posts about the trip. The message said: “I’m so happy for you to be able to have this experience … I always thought you were so sweet and frail, but look at you go. You’re a super hero…I just feel you should know we see you now. You are an amazingly beautiful powerful force”.
If you have been following my story and my blog posts you will know why I started Lifting Anchor in the first place and will remember that I really was seen by nearly everyone as small and frail for most of my childhood, if not my entire life. There was a time when I was sick, and I was weak. But Lifting Anchor was about strength and doing something that really challenged me after a lifetime of listening to the voices in my head and heart saying I couldn’t do hard things. So, this message was huge for me, on so many levels. I was being seen for being strong instead of weak!
I missed everything about the visit with Craig the elephant after that and just sat in the jeep alone sobbing and being proud of myself. Which is really what the word was about for me after all; it was about being seen for the courage I do possess but didn’t allow to come out in the past. That moment, not only being recognized but also seeing it in myself, was what I had hoped to feel but didn’t when I had been in Kenya the previous year.
In times over the last year when I was unsure of the right way to proceed with a situation, I referred to my word. And maybe some of you are reading this and thinking that it is a bit hokey, but I did allow my word to guide me and it served me so, so well. Instead of hiding, from myself and other people, I committed to showing up.
I think the power of intentions is strong. I also think that the universe holds so many amazing opportunities for us if we are open to them. But we have to be aware of them, willing to accept them, and intentional about them. And we have to be willing to see ourselves, and have others see us too.
I will be attending another Sparkly New Year workshop on New Years Day. I have an important word in mind to choose and I hope it chooses me too.
Do you set intentions for the year, or select a guiding word? Do you have any stories to share about how your intentions or a word of the year showed up for you in 2024 or in the past? What word do you think you might like to have guide your 2024?
CLICK HERE if you would like to support and encourage my writing by buying me a coffee :)