On one hand, I want my OLW to be ORDER. I know that's crazy. Not very glamorous. Or uplifting. Or soul stretching. But ORDER is a word I really like right now. I think it's because, as a general rule, I'm such a disorderly person. I'm horrible at housekeeping. And bill paying. And paperwork. And I drive myself crazy. I'm really longing for order. I want to be one of those people who has a clean house. And pays bills on time. And doesn't spend half of her life looking for things. I think ORDER would be a terrific word for this year.
But on the other hand, I'm longing for less predictability in my life. For years, I have been a single parent. And for a long time, my life pretty much consisted of working and taking care of my boys- feeding them, doing laundry, doing homework, taking them to practices, attending games, etc. I loved that life, but it's over now. The boys are pretty much grown. They don't need me to take care of them anymore, at least not in the same way.
I've had a hard time, the last couple of years, figuring out what I want my new life to look like. I pretty work a lot of hours, come home, walk the dog, do more work, go to bed, get up a few hours later and start all over again. On Saturdays I clean and grocery shop and do errands, and on Sundays, I go to Colorado Springs to see my mom. Yeah, there's a little reading and a little writing, and a little practicing Spanish, and a little time with friends, but it's pretty much same old, same old, same old.
I really want to make some changes this year. I want to learn something new. To draw or to paint or to make something. I want to find something else, besides work, that I love. And for that reason, I want my one little word to be CREATE.
I'm having a hard time choosing one little word. ORDER? CREATE?
Can I have two little words?
Oh, you could use them both to create order. But I love create by itself. I say go with it!
ReplyDeleteI love both of these words, but I agree with Ramona--create is perfect. I think you can use it to encompass creating order, but it can also do so much more for you. :) Enjoy 2017 and settling on just the right word!
ReplyDeleteI'm with Ramona on this one, too, Carol - create just has a freer, more positive and empowering ring to it.
ReplyDeleteIt's always hard to settle on that one little word. This year I thought it was ritual, then I thought it was practice, then I decided it was daily. Also not the most inspiring word to others, I'm sure, but it appeals to me deeply right now. I actually like order quite a bit. We need structure in our lives. An orderly life creates space for exploration, discovery, creativity.
ReplyDeleteI am your soul sister in many ways. I am a terrible house keeper. Although I pay bulls on time, I cannot manage paper. For what ever reason, my computer desktop is much neater than my actual desktop. I am a stacker, not a filer.
ReplyDeleteSo, knowing that about me, I give this advice to you: choose create, one thing you can create is more order. It will require baby steps and, in the meantime, you can do other, more fun, creative things.
Do both! Order to straighten things up, Create for some fun. I'm a single mom too, and since my son turned 17 (eep!) I'm having the same feelings. More time for myself, but I miss some of the old things.
ReplyDeleteCarol, I love this. For me, I find that order and routines in certain areas of my life free me up to be spontaneous and creative in other areas. Maybe your word could be balance, so that you have just the right amount of both! :>D
ReplyDeleteCarol, I'm so glad you shared this. My #OWL for this year (the first time I'm doing one!) is FOCUS. I'm with you -- it sounds kind of boring. Why not "Serendipity"? Or "Flourish"? But my gut tells me that focus is what I need. I hope you enjoy coming up with your new routine -- lots of space to create your day!
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