one little word

This is my 5th year of choosing "one little word" to guide my year...... I had this one all ready to go weeks ago.....but in the last few days I have had a change of heart.

I was going to choose the word "Love"

Before you go ahead and roll your eyes....I want to live my life with love at the core of what I do.....not romantic love (although there is no denying that needs to be paid attention to) but deep, abiding, agape LOVE with a capital L.

And here's the hard part....the hard part is that LOVE would apply to everyone in my life.

There isn't an "IN" group for Love.....it must be, by its very essence, for ALL.

That is hard stuff.  There are lots of people I would prefer to not Love.

I had occasion in the past to actively Love people I did not want to love.  I am a naturally judgey and impatient person.  I sum people up fast and sometimes I never let them change my mind. Or my heart. There is absolute truth that sometimes love is an act of will, a choice, and perversely there  is actually joy in the discipline of loving others whether you feel it or not.  There is also growth...it stretches my comfort zone big time.   And humility....because much of the time I am quite unlovely and yet people keep loving me! (thank you peeps)

Make no mistake, I want to be an authentically loving person......and there's the rub....authentically...

I am tired of just  "going through the motions"..... I am desperately trying to be over caring too much what others think.  I am trying to be more bothered to do the right thing, the just thing, the truthful thing rather than the thing I and others think I should do.

It's a fine line to walk.  Most of the time I don't do it well.

I want Love to be in every encounter I have and as I thought about it I realised to chose it as my "One little word" would diminish the impact I hope love will have.....the love that has been so freely shown to me is mine to share always ....not just in 2015.

So LOVE will be my travelling companion but my one little word is "Witness".

I have come to the conclusion from much introspection (aka insomnia), some reading, some prayer, some discourse with others in my life......that I think what people need is to be seen, to be noticed, to have someone to witness their lives.

And the amazing thing is that people actually crave not just the witness of their great moments and life highlights, they also crave someone to witness their dark and hard times.....their alone or lonely times, the times injustice wins, illness strikes.....when there is loss.

It is a profound privilege to be allowed by another person to be their witness....a vulnerability that must be honoured.

There is a part of each of us that is like a desperate person on a desert island trying to hail a rescuer....  "Over here...I am over here.....See me?"

There is little I can do to change the world,  to bring peace or justice or healing but this I can do.....I can tell people "I see you".  I see your striving, your joy, your effort, your love, your kindness, your anger.....I see YOU.

I am a woman of action.....I will be intentional in letting people know I see them, a card, a text, a note, a phone call...... a hug.

If sometimes I add a bowl of soup or a cup of tea to that so be it but my personal goal it be observant enough of those around me to see....to see the daily miracles of community and connection that are all around me. To stop rushing by people, to focus on listening to people when they answer "How are you?" and being bold enough (gulp) to crack open the door to what might be lying just below the surface.  To invite myself in to witness what they want to show me and then to walk and witness together until we are done.

And I will try and let you witness my life in all its messy, broken, craziness.....

Will you witness with me?  If we are all ready to see one another, to witness each of
our lives as we live them out.... then maybe we can change the world.

I am ready to give it a shot!



Past OLW's if you are interested

2011  CONTENT

2012  ALOHA

2013  CONNECT

2014  JOY