Back in December Cairene MacDonald offered this great workshop with Laura Burkey devoted to creating a Personal Living Theme for 2010. It was a wonderful and inspiring class and I’ve been allowing the ideas to flow and percolate for the past few weeks. And then, just as I knew it would, my perfect word came to me and I suddenly knew what my theme for 2010 would be.
–verb (used without object) 1. to be in a vigorous state; thrive: a period in which art flourished. 2. to be in its or in one’s prime; be at the height of fame, excellence, influence, etc. 3. to be successful; prosper. 4. to grow luxuriantly, or thrive in growth, as a plant. 5. to make dramatic, sweeping gestures: Flourish more when you act out the king’s great death scene. 6. to add embellishments and ornamental lines to writing, letters, etc. 7. to sound a trumpet call or fanfare.
–verb (used with object) 8. to brandish dramatically; gesticulate with: a conductor flourishing his baton for the crescendo. 9. to decorate or embellish (writing, a page of script, etc.) with sweeping or fanciful curves or lines.
Ah I get excited just thinking about it! Which is splendid – just the right response for something that’s meant to inspire me to a year’s worth of stretching.
I’ve been talking with a number of people about this process and it seems like lots of folks are playing around with year-long themes. I’ve certainly seen a number of blog posts about it. But I’ve also heard some hesitations and past discouragements. To work with something for a full year requires a certain amount of focus and willingness to stick with it as the process evolves. That got me thinking about what kind of energetic support might be useful on an on-going basis throughout the year. And so I’ve put together a special support package that can offer some assistance with this. Details are here if you’re interested.
I’m excited about Flourish. I know it’s where I want to be going. But it’s not as if you can GPS it as a destination and have the journey planned out for you. And anyway that wouldn’t be any fun at all. No, the thing about a year-long theme is the myriad of ways it will unfold. All the opportunities that will present themselves offering me chances to flourish; and all the sticking points that will turn up. The unexpected and surprising. A theme is most certainly not a static thing and I have a whole year to play with it and see what evolves.
Part of the fun thing is seeing what shows up. And indeed I stumbled upon an inspiring quote from Mary Oliver that already feels like a nice touchstone for this year. “I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing as though I had wings.” I’m thinking perhaps I’ll have that engraved on a bangle that I wear all year.
So do you have a theme for 2010? I’d love to hear it.
Wow, that is a great word and a great theme! It encompasses so much and seems chock-full of exciting possibilities.
“…to be in its or in one’s prime; be at the height of fame, excellence, influence, etc…to grow luxuriantly, or thrive in growth, as a plant. ” I love that.
Congratulations on choosing such a wonderful theme.
I love the word flourish – and the font you printed it it. What a beautiful theme and that’s what I wish for you.
I was on the same call and my intention is prayerfulness – meaning asking for help when I feel stuck or unsure of myself. It also means listening to that help which involves silence and discerning what’s really being offered.
Thank you for this opportunity to share this with you – I find that as I say what my theme is it helps me remind me of it.
@Candace – Thanks for the encouragement! It does feel like it’s full of extraordinarily exciting possibilities – I can’t wait to see how I’m inspired to play with this during 2010.
@Char – What a lovely theme! And I love how you’ve defined how you’ll be working with it. It sounds rich and full and perfect! I also agree with you that sharing and saying what one’s theme is keeps it in the forefront, on the ready to be tapped into. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.