My Word for 2016: Fly
I love choosing a word for the year. Last year, it was a phrase: Sacred Focus.
For 2016, I was having a hard time choosing. Ease? Light? Courage? Nothing seemed to fully encapsulate what I’m bringing with me into this new year. What I’m shedding. What my intentions are.
But on December 31st, I was sitting on a beach in Mexico with some of my dearest people. For a long time, I watched the pelicans swooping into the ocean, catching fish. I watched the frigatebirds coasting along the currents of the breeze. I watched the terns darting about, playing with one another. I just watched…
Captivated.
And as it happens when I am out in the world and quiet, something struck me. Every bird on that beach was doing exactly what it was born to do. FLY.
What that meant for each bird was different. Sometimes, flying does take courage. Sometimes, flying is as easeful as can be. But it’s what those birds are meant to do. In their very bird essence, they just… fly.
Now, people, before we get carried away, let’s remember:
Those birds absolutely fell on their faces the first time they tried to fly.
“Fly” is not all sparkly grace and fabulous plumage. It takes courage. It’s a practice. One day, it might be just like breathing, but today, it takes our whole hearts to leave that nest. It takes a few tries (or 100 tries) to get it right.
Your flock is here. The view will be worth it. You just have to give it one more shot. One day, those wings will open. They’ll learn what they’re for.
So, what does this have to do with you?
How does it relate to self-care? To what you’ll be seeing here? To what I am hoping to offer you?
“Fly” means a commitment on my part to:
Model ease.
If I am writing to you about self-care, you better believe that’s what I’m doing behind the scenes. I will show you how to make space for grace and ease. That means taking things off our plates. It means speaking kindly to ourselves.
It’s not all flapping my heart out to fly as hard as you can. It’s also finding those updrafts. It’s finding the little currents that will let you coast for a little while. Let it be easeful, if it can’t be easy.
Do what I’m born to do.
I am born to write, heal and create sacred space. Bring more compassion, patience and love into this world. Facilitate transformation, hold grief and joy. Build others up. Leave this world better than I found it. Reveal that it is possible. (Whatever that it is.)
That’s what I have to offer. That’s how I’ll spend 2016. No faking. No fooling.
Be fearless around failure.
The first few times we try to fly, it may look a bit more like falling. But I promise, I will not hold back what I have to say or make myself small because I’m afraid. I promise to claim my voice in order to make space for yours. I will protect my heart fiercely. And, if you grace me with your presence here, I will protect that gift for the sacred vote of trust it is.
But I fierce love means going out on a limb, even if our legs wobble below us. Perfectionism is a waste of time.
