Having flogged myself by sticking to a post-a-day regimen for the first few months of 2012, this year I’m adopting a kinder, less-is-more attitude to blogging in the hope of cultivating a Bowie-esque mystique. Well, that’s my excuse, anyway.
However, now we have had the first new moon of the year, I am feeling a little more focused. This is where 2013 begins – a year that seems less burdened by expectation (no Olympics, Queen’s Jubilee or Mayan calendar to contend with).
Last January I posted about my word of the year, the word that I felt would define 2012 for me – what I wanted for myself. That word was TRANSITION – the act of passing from one state or place to another, an event that results in transformation. This proved to be a good example of “be careful what you wish for”, as this powerful intention resulted in a transformation that I did not have in mind and had not consciously wished for.
So I was a little hesitant about doing this exercise again. However, I trust that the universe and her angels are on my side so this year’s word is INTEGRATION. Except I’m going to cheat a little and make it JOYFUL INTEGRATION, just to make sure I ask for the “right” kind of integration, if there is such a thing.
What is my intention? To bring together and unify all parts of self so that all of me is moving in the same direction; to bring together and unify my professional offerings; to reintegrate any suppressed emotion; and to make joy an integral part of the whole process. By which I mean that whenever I’m integrating stuff, I’d like to have fun doing it.
I’ve been reflecting on the concept of joy – particularly EVERYDAY JOY, which seems like such a good thing that I put it in capital letters (because it’s one of those posts where I’m allowed to cap things up just for the sake of it).
Surely joy shouldn’t be something we reserve for births, weddings and special occasions. Let joy be unconfined, I say. Let it be a frequent occurrence, and let us find it in the most mundane of events and experiences.
Let me give an example. I’m fortunate enough to work in a modern, spacious office which has a large, light-filled cafe that sells home-made cakes and treats. Every time I come up the escalator into the Sky Lobby (which is its James Bond-esque name), I feel a frisson of everyday joy.
And the more I focus on such frissons, the more joy I find myself experiencing in seemingly unlikely places. I even had an attack of everyday joy walking across a station platform recently and can highly recommend it as a way to brighten a grey winter’s day.
Anyway, back to JOYFUL INTEGRATION. Let’s hope my intention of quite literally getting myself together in a fun way, will not lead to the unleashing of any curveballs. But then if that does happen, I’ll trust that there’s a reason I can’t comprehend, then sit back and enjoy the show.
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