One Word | May Prompt

Let's find our words in the world around us in May.  That's right, it's time to pull out your camera or your cell phone and take pictures.

What images come to mind right now?

In 2011 my word was EMERGE and I took photos of flowers blooming, the sun bursting through clouds, me walking through a door...

Get behind the lens and let it show you your word.  What do you see?

Note: Mark your calender - May 21, 2013.  We will be meeting a little bit early (6pm) for a photography walking tour.  We will grab some dinner after.

Join the journey - it's not too late!

One Word: FREE | Big News for Kristen

Hello May!

Spring is springing and summer is in the wings.  I'm starting to get energized about some new adventures as I begin in earnest the transition from my comfortable and worn path to a brand new adventure.  That is to say: I quit.  I resigned my full time job.  I told them at the staff meeting yesterday.  It's official!  My last day as the computer teacher for Paradise Canyon elementary school is June 13, 2013.  Wow.  Talk about actualizing my word: FREE!

And the associated emotions?  Joy, fear, hope, curiosity, open-mindedness...did I say fear?  How about worry?  I also have a bucket and a vat of faith right now.  My mind reaches for that adage, "When God leads you to it, He will help you through it."  This decision has been happening for three years now and I am the one who has been dragging her feet.  So, here it is - the gigantic leap of faith.  I quit my job!

What is next?

One Word | April 2013 prompt

Well - this is a late post for the April prompt.  Still, here it is - and it's good as long as you need it.

This month - sometime soon - get out a piece of paper...any size, any color...and write one of the following words:

enough
worthy
good

Write big - fill the whole page (leaving just a little room around the edges).  Write with a marker, a paint brush, a crayon, a pencil.  Color it in, decorate it up, spend some time connecting with this word.

Now,
just above the word (or inside, or on the side, or on the bottom) write these two small words:

I am.

Put your piece of paper where you can see it.

Put you and your piece of paper in front of a mirror and take a picture.  Or ask someone to take a picture of you holding your paper with some of these words on it:

I am enough
I am worthy
I am good

How does that feel?  Repeat this phrase every time you see yourself in the mirror, or reflected in a car window, or anywhere.  Try it for a few weeks.

Eventually you will put it in your folder or notebook.

Say a little prayer, or call me if you forget these messages.  I am here to remind and support you.

One Word | April 16 meeting

Tuesday night at the church six of us met to work on our One Word pursuit.

We finished up our January prompt - here's mine...

Most everyone had already finished their vision boards (our February prompt).  I took a photo of mine and put it in my album behind the January  page.  And then we worked on our March prompt by meditating for 15 minutes (or so, I couldn't tell...my eyes were closed!).

We put pages in page protectors, page protectors in folders, and we talked.  We talked about the answers we received during our meditation time.  We talked about the fact that it was easy to come up with what we're doing "wrong" and difficult to come up with what we're doing "right."

We talked about sacrificing what we want for so long that we've forgotten what we want.

We talked about being vulnerable, eating well, and listening to our bodies.  Our bodies know what to eat.  Our hearts know what we want.  Our sisters know how to succor us - even when we don't know how to do this for ourselves.

I'm glad you were there/I wish you were there.

One Little Word | March reflections

Over at Big Picture Classes I'm taking Ali Edward's class called One Little Word - just in case I haven't said that enough.

The prompt for March was to take action.  Ali encouraged us to identify something we've wanted to do, pick a date, mark it on the calendar, and DO IT!  

My personal "intention" for March was Dare to be Powerful - because power is liberating!  

So my action for March was to set aside time to "dream, think, pray and ponder what's next."  

And I did it.  The path just ahead of me is still unclear, but the fog is lifting and I know I am on the right path.  

My daring to be powerful in March resulted in FOUR blog posts - up FOUR from January!  Daring to be powerful also helped me to push though some work around making amends.  Daring to be powerful prepped me to launch a complete studio re-do, which is something I've been working on little by very little since last summer.  

In March I bought a new computer and printer - and I let it sit in the living room because I was too afraid to be powerful enough to set it up and claim it for myself.  What a discovery - neither good nor bad - just information and another little evidence that I stop myself from experiencing life wholeheartedly (as Brené Brown says).

Well guess what?  The computer is set up now!  

I'm off to rule the world.  Take care!

One Word - March 2013 Prompt | Meditation

The March One Word prompt is about meditation and much more than meditation.  We will be using a bit of quiet time to explore our journey with our word.

Here's the overview:

Pick a two dates for meditation.  Mark them on the calendar and note the time. 

Read the Meditation Hand Out and follow the prompt. 

Download the documentation file (here) and print it out.  

List one thing that is helping you right now on your journey toward integrating your word into your life.

List one thing that is hindering your progress toward your one word.

In a few days (yes, this time I promise!) I'll post what I've done.

Enjoy!

One Little Word January and February in Review

At the end of the month I like to review what I did with my word and my intention.  I have, of course, already fallen a little behind.  But here are my January and February summaries.

January  

My intention was Free Time (see my list of intentions) and in January I took several steps to shift my schedule.  The first thing I did was request a further reduction in my work hours.  Instead of working 3 and a half days I asked to work only Monday-Wednesday.  I think having two full days to pursue creative interests will be more productive than a day and a half.  It's hard to shift gears in the middle of Thursday.  Our school principal was supportive of  my request and the School Board votes the first week of February and the change should be effective 20 February 2013.

The next thing I did to free my time was to stop playing two silly games on my iPad.  One of the games was a virtual zoo and the other a fantasy restaurant.  Both games are designed for much younger people and I'd been playing both for more than a year...talk about a time drain!  Still, it was hard to unplug.  I quit the zoo game the first week of January and the restaurant game was deleted at the end of week two.  I still play a word game because I've heard it staves off Alzheimer's (?) and because I'm really good at it.  Look for QueenKristen if you play Scramble with Friends - or if you're on Instagram.

Here's some fun I had in my new found spare time: 

I took a list of synonyms for FREE as well as my name and uploaded them on Tagxedo.  Try it!

February 

In February my intention was Free Body.  I have been struggling with pain from a torn meniscus in my right knee and some referred/compensatory pain in my left knee so exercise has been tough for me this last year.  In February I felt strong enough to get back to moving.  I walked at least three times per week for the first three weeks and then made a point to get to the gym at least twice.  What a great feeling! 

One Word - Class Announcement

So happy to have you here on the blog.  As this is my personal blog, look for the entries titled One Word for class specific information.  It's not too late to join me on the One Word journey!

The La Crescenta Ward Relief Society met on February 12, 2013 at a no-longer-called-Enrichment meeting.  We talked about the power of selecting just one word to guide us for the year.  The turn out at the event was great and the art work was Ah-MAZ-ing!  We made vision boards!

From now on we will be holding class mainly on the blog and periodically in person.  Here's what you need to know to get started:

Here is a link to the class announcement including supplies list.  Please leave a comment if this link doesn't work and I'll put the supplies list on the blog.

Mark your calendars for future One Word group gatherings in 2013. We will meet at 7pm either my house or the church.

April 16

May 21

July 16

September 17

November 19

I also made some mini-canvases for you to decorate with your research and images of your word.  There are three colors: black, gray, or brown.    The canvases are meant to be put into a baseball card holder/page protector (on the supply list).  We will use this card holder page protector at least 2 times during the year.  Rather than all of us buying a packet of these, I am happy to buy one package and give out a few to everyone for a small charge (.50 for 2 page protectors and .50 for gas to get to the store and back...J) I'll start bringing these to church so look for me.  The dimensions on the mini-canvases are 3.4" x 2.4".

Mine (is a little different) looks like this: 

Our assignments so far are:

1 - January 

Select a word (or let it select you) and do some leg work - look up the definition? what are some synonyms? what do you want to invite with this word?  take a self-portrait.  Find a quote or scripture that uses your word and write that out.  Cut out the mini-canvases and put them in the page protectors.  On the blank mini-canvases write your word or make some art that inspires you.

2 - February 

Make a vision board!  Christine Kane has an article on this, here. But basically all you do is cut pictures and words from magazines or the internet and put them together on a canvas or piece of paper in a way that inspires you.   Cover it all with Mod Podge, gesso or gel medium and you're done!   If you do it on a piece of 8.5" x 11" paper the next step is easy - just put it in a page protector and place it in your album - or cut it into 9ths using the dimensions of 3.4"x 2.4" and put your vision board in the back side of your baseball card page protector. If you don't want to cut up your finished work, make a scan of it, take a picture, or get a color copy in the  8.5x11" size and use that for your scrapbook binder. 

Here is my completed vision board (I made a big one on a 20"x 24" canvas) and hung up in my studio.  

On or about the first of every month I will send you an email inviting you to check out the new prompt for the month on the blog.  

EXPERIMENT - do you own thing and make this personal to your journey.  I can't wait to share the transformational power of One Word with you this year.

Questions?  leave a comment below!

One Little Word - 2013

FREE!  

That's my word for 2013.  In January I set some intentions for each month.  What do I want from FREE?  Here's what I came up with:

January - Free TIME

February - Free BODY

March - *Dare to be POWERFUL 

April - *Dare to CREATE

May - Free WRITE

June - Free EXPRESSION

July - Freely BELIEVE

August - Burst FREE

September - Debt FREE

October - Free SPIRIT

November - Free ENOUGH

December - *Dare to be STILL

*Dare is a word that I am using to assist me with Free this year

I made 12 baseball sized cards and added a few more details.

 

Have you picked a word for 2013?  Leave a comment and let us know.  If you haven't picked a word here are some links that I used the first time I selected a word (in 2011!)  I used this document by Christine Kane to help me understand the purpose of selecting just one word instead of making multiple resolutions.  I also rely on Ali Edwards' guidance in her One Little Word class at Big Picture Classes.  In fact, some of what I've planned for this year has been adapted from Ali's class.