SHARE YOUR WORD FOR 2016
In ancient times, wise men and women fled out into the desert to find a place where they could be fully present to God and to their own inner struggles at work within them. The desert became a place to enter into the refiner’s fire and be stripped down to one’s holy essence. The desert was a threshold place where you emerged different than when you entered.
Many people followed these ammas and abbas, seeking their wisdom and guidance for a meaningful life. One tradition was to ask for a word – this word or phrase would be something on which to ponder for many days, weeks, months, sometimes a whole lifetime. This practice is connected to lectio divina, where we approach the sacred texts with the same request – “give me a word” we ask – something to nourish me, challenge me, a word I can wrestle with and grow into. The word which chooses us has the potential to transform us.
What is your word for the year ahead? A word which contains within it a seed of invitation to cross a new threshold in your life?
Share your word in the comments section below by January 6, 2016 and you are automatically entered for the prize drawing (prizes listed below).
A FREE 12-DAY ONLINE MINI-RETREAT TO HELP YOUR WORD CHOOSE YOU. . .
As in past years, I am offering all Abbey newsletter subscribers a gift: a free 12-day online mini-retreat with a suggested practice for each day to help your word choose you and to deepen into your word once it has found you. Even if you participated last year, you are more than welcome to register again.
Subscribe to our email newsletter and you will receive a link to start your mini-retreat today. Your information will never be shared or sold. (If you are already subscribed to the newsletter, look for the link in today’s email).
WIN A PRIZE – RANDOM DRAWING GIVEAWAY ON JANUARY 6TH!
We are delighted to offer some wonderful gifts from the Abbey:
- One signed copy each of Soul of a Pilgrim, Eyes of the Heart, The Artist’s Rule, and Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire.
- One space in Sacred Seasons: A Yearlong Journey through the Celtic Wheel of the Year
- 4 people will win their choice of self-study online classes from the following: Creative Flourishing in the Heart of the Desert: A Self-Study Online Retreat with St. Hildegard of Bingen, Soul of a Pilgrim: An Online Art Retreat, Seasons of the Soul, Lectio Divina: The Sacred Art of Reading the World, or Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Contemplative Practice.
So please share your word (and it would be wonderful to include a sentence about what it means for you) with us below.
Subscribe to the Abbey newsletter to receive ongoing inspiration in your in-box. Share the love with others and invite them to participate. Then stay tuned – on January 6th we will announce the prize winners!
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712 Responses
Present. I’ll be interested to see how this works out in 2016 in its different forms.
My word/phrase for 2016 — UPPITY GIGS. Definitely my word but not sure what it means or why it attached itself to me. Something to do with pridefullness and being good. U
My word for 2016 is a Sufi word that I just learned about.
ADAB
“Adab” is a code of behavior that is central to Sufism, a way to walk the path with the correct attitude and true courtesy. On the deepest level, adab is the attitude of the soul before God, the way the soul bows down before its Lord with utmost respect, and then lives that respect in the outer and inner worlds.
My word is “Quiet” . I’m thinking this means I have to learn to be quiet ,and calm, to surround myself with a cloak of quietness, instead of the cloak of business , impetuousness etc which sometimes surrounds me now.
My word for 2016: WRITE.
The “days were accomplished that she should be delivered” (of her words).
My word for the year , that emerged early in the course, but I wanted to rest with it for a while before posting , is – Come.
And every time I hear the word it is Come and…
First it was Come and bear my burdens.
Then as Christmas day approachedit was Come and rejoice.
I think it will be interesting to see how the word blossoms into a phrase in the varying seasons of the coming year.
My word last year was community. So that breaks apart into Come Unity. I feel that this will be an important theme in my life as the year progresses.
I am grateful to you Christine for introducing me to this practice and I hope the word Come bears as much fruit in my life in 2016 as community did in 2015.
Although I am at the point in my life’s journey where the words pilgrimage and midwife might be good words to focus on, the word “centered” has been in my consciousnes; ultimately I chose that word. A term often used to describe my deceased father, I think a centered individual is one with a knowledge of one’s core values, an acceptance of.those, and the living of a life that honors those, which doesn’t mean one shouldn’t keep growing and learning. Nor does being centered require a retreat from the world and its issues. It means trusting in the universe and oneself, believing in oneself as a valued creation of God, and exhibiting a calm and quiet countenance toward not just those you know and love but to all the world.
Centered. Centering prayer. A centered life. My word.
My word is silence. I commit to letting go of noisy distractions I place in my life at least for some period of time each day.
This year was a bit of a struggle to wait for a word to emerge. Christine, your posts about waiting patiently were so helpful.
My word for 2016 is GIFT.
Joy….bubbles from within.