2021 Intention Words

The past two years I have set intention words for the year. 2019 was courage and 2020 was, well, several words, hah! Joy, play, love, authenticity, integrity, ownership, and self-assurance. Looking to 2021 I want to continue to bring the intention of my 2019 and 2020 words to 2021 as well as invite in the following new words (am trying to be a little more concise than 2020!). I have found this experience to help guide my focus and energy or at least be a nice gentle reminder. And who knows maybe in 2021, I will change or add on to my intention word quarterly or monthly. If you set an intention word let me know and share yours in the comments at the end of this blog.

1) Conscious. I almost picked the word mindful here, but I figure given that it is the name of my blog I should probably have that one as my word for all time. Instead, I chose conscious, similar yet different. Conscious to me has multiple layers. The first is a mindful-like awareness …. being aware of what you are doing in the present moment. It is living in and being conscious of the now. This includes  so-called mundane tasks like making your morning coffee (and will increase the likelihood that you remember to shut it off your coffee maker each time). It is remembering the route you drove to work because you were paying attention. It means when you daydream you do so with awareness and intention, not because you forgot about the present moment (and then perhaps ended up forgetting something else like your keys!). As you go up to “higher” levels (whatever higher even means), conscious, to me, means to strive to listen to my higher self, to my higher wisdom, rather than giving in to my triggers and reactions. It means I comfort my wounded inner child and consciously choose to act with my wiser adult self, under the guidance of my higher power. I am conscious of each moment of life, conscious of its preciousness and infinite beauty even in moments of challenge when my triggers rear up, trying to steal center show. 

2) Surrender. To truly be conscious we have to surrender. And to truly surrender we have to be conscious. Conscious surrender. Chew on that one. I arrived at the word surrender because I was trying to think of the word that is the opposite of what I like to call a “bruhaha.” What is a “bruhaha” you may ask? It’s when you make a mountain out of a molehill and generally speaking get worked up over something small. Generally, these “bruhaha” moments stem from anxiety which is basically just a form of fear. The antidote? Surrender. Surrender control. Most things we can’t control. What we can control is our attitude and effort. The results – surrender them, you certainly can’t control them. Not really. Life is precious. Every moment is precious. We don’t know what the next year or the next moment will hold. Surrender to the unexpected, beautiful mess of it and ride the waves; don’t fight against them. 

3) Embrace. I almost ended my 2021 words with conscious and surrender, but felt that surrender needed a little something more active. A few spices so to speak. If surrender is like accepting different emotions non-judgmentally, then embrace is welcoming them with open arms. It’s the next level up. So I figured why not strive for that. Beyond that, embrace also brings in the joy and play and love from my 2020 words. After all, just as important as sitting with the difficult emotions is being mindful of and appreciating the joyful ones – embracing them. Moments big and small from that luxurious morning shower and cup of coffee to standing outside with rays of sunshine falling on you. 

Here’s a poem to leave you with…

New year
New start
New beginning
New breath
New end
New cycle

What is new anyway?
New, old
Beginning, end
Going in a circle
The circle of time
The merry-go-round of life

This year
This time
This moment
Breath a conscious breath
Breathe consciousness
Into now
Now

Surrender
Give up control
Of what you can’t control
(which happens to be a lot)
What can we control anyway?
Probably just our attitude
Our consciousness…
Conscious surrender

More than surrender
Embrace
Embrace it all
The beautiful
The joy, love and play
Alongside the “ugly”
The sadness, pain and challenge

See
That the “ugly”
Isn’t so ugly
It’s just part of life
So welcome it
Embrace it
Just be

Conscious
Surrender
Embrace
New Year
New Moment
Every Moment