2016 Word of the Year

It was New Years Day. Like everyone else, I was dreaming and anticipating all the possibilities that lay ahead in the brand new year.

One of the many questions that popped into my thoughts happened to be, “What will be your word of the year this year?” Followed by, “What do you want to work on or improve on this year?” “What word do you want to dedicate to your new year?”

“What will be your focus for 2016?”

I was left with all these questions and the answer that came to me wasn’t one I was expecting.

I decided I wasn’t going to choose a word for 2016.

I decided I wasn’t going to choose a word of the year anymore.

But…

Instead, I was going to let the universe choose for me.

…

How I let the universe guide me: 

At the beginning of 2016, I decided not to choose a word of the year. Deciding on a word that I was going to dedicate to a whole year didn’t sit right with me. I felt the only reason we choose a word is because we are “lacking” it and I didn’t want to start off my new year with the mindset that I am lacking in something or needing to improve on, or constantly trying to manifest into my life.

So instead, I was going to live my life and be open to allowing the universe choose a word for me. As the months went on I kept my heart and my mind open. I didn’t look for clues, but I allowed myself to receive them. I did my best to notice the signs, absorb them, and try to understand them.

You will never know they are signs until well after they have passed.

My first sign came to me in a picture I found on the Internet. It was a quote and it came to me when I was irritable, angry, and frustrated with people and situations that were presently going on. I loved the simple, short, two-word quote shining brightly right in front of my face. As I looked at it and was taking in its message I went from feeling so negative to trying to let go of all those hateful emotions.

The quote said:

Grace wins.

The next few signs came from conversations with others. After several months of it popping up EVERYWHERE, now I realized this is it.

The word the universe is telling me is

Grace. 

I, finally, made it official in August. Yes, it took about eight months to really know that this is what the universe was telling me.

But I was okay with that.

I knew that the word would come to me when I was ready for it.

The universe would set it up so that it would come at the right time.

& it did.

For a while, I just kept absorbing it all in. Noticing every time it popped up, every time I heard the word and when it was used or why it was used. I did everything I could to just be an observer.

Since I did not choose a word and for a specific reason I had to now try and understand why this word was chosen for me.

It was my next step, to figure out what Grace means and why it came into my life.

& that is exactly what I did next.

What did grace mean to me?

I knew there are two types of “Grace.” There was God’s grace & the dictionary.com/ definition: noun. elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action.

But, what did grace mean to me? So I decided the next part of my journey was trying to find my own answer.

I have learned this year that grace to me means having the patience, kindness, and heart towards myself and to others. To remind myself when I am uneasy with others that allowing grace to fill me up helps me overcome the negative feelings and heal myself quicker and at the same time sharing grace to others helps me to find a way to heal the situation between us and find a way for them to find peace too. Extending grace to yourself and others isn’t easy; it is often forgotten and often overrun by negative emotions and pride. I’ve also learned that giving yourself grace is different than using it towards others. Giving yourself grace requires you to believe you are worthy of it. Grace is practicing patience within yourself, along with being kind, understanding, and forgiving. Grace for me is used more often when times are tough, but it is always there especially in the good times too. When you find yourself lost in moments of happiness you will see that there is grace surrounding you always.

Grace is a chance to turn something wrong into something that doesn’t consume you but allows you to move forward.

Grace helps you find room for more joy in your days, in your relationships, and in your life.

Grace helps provide hope and relief.

Grace surrounds the world with a choice, a choice for making things right.

…

During one of the many conversations I had this year, there was one in particular that really stuck with me.

I was talking to an amazing woman. I confronted her to share my admiration for the way she carried herself, the way her presence lit up the room, the way she and her husband just seemed so happy, and I admired how kind she was to everyone around her. I asked her how she manages to stay so radiant when days are hard more often then they are good. She said to me, “It is because of grace. I let grace run my life. I try to be graceful towards myself during tough times, be graceful to my husband and love him the way he deserves to be loved and to use God’s grace within me to share and shine out towards others.”

Her words describe grace perfectly.

Seeing how grace made such a big difference in her life and made her into the wonderful person she is, I realized the last part of my journey was to learn how to use grace in my own life.

How I started adding grace.

Grace isn’t easy, being graceful isn’t easy, and choosing to extend grace is not easy.

However, once I realized how having grace makes my life better it was easier to trust it.

Being graceful made me feel like I was trying to be someone I wasn’t. I am not a graceful person. I make mistakes and say the wrong things all the time and I am dorky and quirky and all the things a graceful person is not. Even people who have the same qualities as me were still more graceful than me, heck the qualities made them seem even more perfect, but graceful didn’t feel like it was meant for me.

Being a graceful person wasn’t ever going to feel right until I started giving myself grace.

I learned I needed to stop beating myself up and to start using grace to replace all those thoughts that said it just won’t work for me.

It was grace that I needed.

I needed to give myself the grace to extend patience, kindness, and heart to become the graceful person I already am.

You aren’t going to be a graceful person every second of your life. You do, however; always have the choice. You can choose to practice using grace.

That is what I have chosen to do. I am and will always continue to work on give myself and others grace.

The final part of my journey I decided was to find ways I can create more grace in my life.

Some small ways were:

To practice being kind towards others, to listen to the universe and when others speak wholeheartedly, to love those who deserve love most, to be patient and forgiving toward myself, and finally, to radiate grace into the world in hopes it helps others feel grace’s joy in their lives too.

What I have learned from this journey…

I have learned that not choosing a word ended up being a way better journey for me this year. It allowed me to trust the universe and boy did it deliver.

Grace can heal. Grace is powerful. Grace is everywhere.

& I cannot wait to see how grace continues to work magic in my life.

The universe knew what I needed. All I had to do was be open to the signs, take in the messages, find out what they mean to me, learn how to add them into my life, and finally reflect and continue to grow.

It was grace all along.