SHARE YOUR WORD FOR 2017
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, 2017 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 the Sunday email).
WIN A PRIZE – RANDOM DRAWING GIVEAWAY ON JANUARY 6TH!
We are delighted to offer some wonderful gifts from the Abbey:
- One space in our upcoming New Year’s online retreat – Spiraling Inward: Seven Celtic Spiritual Practices
- One signed copy each of Illuminating the Way, Soul of a Pilgrim, Eyes of the Heart, The Artist’s Rule, and Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire.
- One space in our online program Sacred Seasons: A Yearlong Journey through the Celtic Wheel of the Year
- 4 people will win their choice of our self-study online retreats
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!
316 Responses
Truth keeps showing up. See the truth about myself and the truth about God. Truth is my word…
My word for 2017 is PRESENT – as in being aware and in the here and now.
My word this year is Light-Hearted. My intention is to really be present to the play of light in me and to bring forward a spirit of curiosity, playfulness, and wonder as I move through the season of this year of light.
My word for 2017 is Soft. I no longer have to prove to God, others, or myself that I am tough. I’ve been doing that for a lifetime. My ‘I’m tough’ mantra has built a huge wall that I can hide behind. It’s made me defensive a lot of the time, and keeps me self-centered rather than focusing on others.
To grow in softness will mean growing in humility and vulnerability, and to break down my strong defenses.
My word/s is ENTER IN. For me this means, “Be where I am in my life now and savor it.”
My word is VIBRANCY – meaning (so far… :) a vibrational resonance, radiance, and alignment with the Holy within me and surrounding me.
My word is Wisdom. It is not something I can acquire on my own, but must be open to the gift of it. The image given me is a dry and cracked clay pot sitting in a shallow pool of the holy oil of wisdom. It is slowly drawn up into the dry pot and drips through the cracks into the interior.
My words for this year are Balance and Boundaries. Focusing on Balance
as a Benedictine value –not just work/life but monk/artist,
introvert/extrovert and a whole bunch of other areas, including learning
to say “no” and that taking breaks is OK. All of this requires
compassion (for self and others). None of it can exist without healthy
Boundaries in place — something I learned from St. Benedict and Brené
Brown.
My word for 2017 is Resurrection (“rising from the dead; resumption of life”).
My word is uncharted. It encompasses curiosity, openheartedness, faith, persistence, groundedness, and acceptance, These are the qualities that need to be front and center in my life.