2014: Play & Rest
For the last couple years, I have chosen a Word to be my intention of the year. A word that I could repeat daily, weekly, monthly as a reminder; something to explore & cultivate as a touchstone in my life. My first Word was Truth. Last year's Word was Surrender. And, this year, in a go-big-or-go-home kind of way, I have chosen two Words.These two words come directly from Brene Brown's book, The Gifts of Imperfection, which I have written about several times. This book has given me many powerful concepts to explore in my own life, but one in particular seems to be in need of a whole year of exploration...PLAY & RESTPlay is not something I do well. I plan, I accomplish and I cross off goals. I don't do "nothing" or "silly". And I think that is a huge shame and a loss of joy. In the words of Brown, I am hoping to "let go of exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as self-worth." Play is unplanned & even purposeless. We do it because it is fun and because we want to.The opposite of play is not work - the opposite of play is depression ~Dr. Stuart BrownSo where does "Rest" come into play (hehe, forgive the word play, HA!)? Because we are too busy to "waste time" or "fool around". Because in an effort to accomplish, it would be too easy to schedule and plan my Play, and that defeats the whole point.This year I want to leave myself time to do nothing, to allow the space for spontaneity and to have a whole lot of fun doing it. This means I will say "no" a lot in 2014 ( which feels scary even as I write this), but I believe I am going to find that saying no often feels like saying "yes" to the things I really want: time to read the paper, to hike more, to travel more, to spend more time with family.So, I start my year with a grand adventure & the scariest NO of all: one month of NO to work/email/pay checks and a huge yes to TRAVEL. And I am leaving without too much baggage: no planned outcomes or expectations, no lofty goals of growth or accomplishment. Simply travel for the experience itself. And for the fun.Have you thought of an intention or word for your year? I'd love to hear it! Share it with me on Facebook (disclaimer: I might not respond until February but I'd still love to hear from you!) :)Peace,MA
my camp site & favorite spot to do nothing
