Awake

After a week of fighting a cold, I am finally starting to emerge from the fog of sinus congestion.  I forget how precious clear thinking is when I am sick.

This cloud has prevented me from thinking about my goals for this year.  I was starting to get a bit frustrated with this.  Every time I sat down with my journal to plan and dream, I was overcome with fatigue.

I was feeling stalled.

And then I read Amanda’s post on the One Word 365 Community, and I was inspired.  The purpose is to think about one word that describes what you want to focus on in 2013 and who you want to be by the end of 2013.

I love the simplicity of it.

I still like to create goals, but for now, I need simplicity.

I thought about it.  I let it simmer for a bit.  The instructions made disclaimers about not overthinking.  Well, I never do that.  Ok, I usually do that.

But not this time.

I tried out a few words.  They didn’t seem to fit.

When it comes down to it, who do I want to be?  I wrote a 31 day series on this, and I’m not sure I still have any answers.

Often inspired by music, I thought of a few lyrics from Mumford and Sons:

In these bodies we will live,

in these bodies we will die

Where you invest your love,

you invest your life

The lyrics are from Awake My Soul.  And there it was.

Awake.

My one word for 2013.

This past week wasn’t the first time that I have felt like I have been moving through a fog.  There are many instances in which I simply drift through life.  The to-dos become too overwhelming, work feels a little too close to my heart, and I simply shut down and drift.

I don’t want to simply drift.  Drifting is full of regret.

I want to pay more attention to the people around me.  I want to pay more attention to the life around me.  I want my soul to be awake.

This is a great starting point for me to start building those goals.  Really defining what awake means.

And as usual, building some grace into those goals.  There are times that I drift because my body and mind need to drift.  I need to recharge.  And that’s ok.  It’s also ok to build some goals and change those goals or even scrap them as I realize what really works for me.  Again, grace.  Perfection does not exist.

If you are struggling to find a little focus for 2013, I would encourage you to check out the One Word 365 Community.  This isn’t just for bloggers.  This is for everyone looking for some focus for the new year.

I sure can use the focus.  And the repetition of one word.  You know how much I enjoy repetition.