What’s in a Word?

As the lights dimmed on 2019, two topics fought for attention as an entree to 2020. Because I made a commitment last year to write this follow-up piece, I'm honoring that, with a promise to share new, stretchy ideas soon.

Do you remember the Word Games I referenced last year? It's become fashionable to select a word for the year, and see what comes of having that word as a touchstone for 365 days running. 2019 marked my first go at this exercise. I coupled it with a practice of noticing what other words popped into my consciousness, asking for further definition. As those meanings revealed themselves, I scribbled them on scraps of paper, collecting a petite, potent pile.

For the final year of the decade, I chose the word "Honor." Due diligence required me research the scope of this word. As I reported last year, this is what I found:

Honor - noun
high respect; esteem
- "his portrait hangs in the place of honor"
a privilege
- "the great poet of whom it is my honor to speak tonight"

Honor - verb
regard with great respect
- "Joyce has now learned to honor her father's memory"
fulfill (an obligation) or keep (an agreement)
- "make sure the franchisees honor the terms of the contract" or "he honored the contract"

Over these past few weeks, I've been sitting with what I've learned about honor. While I have only a tweak to add to the meaning itself, I possess a new personal relationship with what it means to honor myself.

In a compact six weeks, I received messages from a Navajo psychic, a former mega-minister, a doctor (who I'm quite sure is part fairy), a waitress at Chili's, and a Trump Republican. Every one of these messengers brought tidings of my need to step up my game. How? I must regard the healing gifts I've been granted with greater respect, and lean more faithfully into the fulfillment of what is possible. Why? Because, in some way - as yet unknown to me - more people might benefit from what I have to offer. Eeek!

Writing and re-reading that paragraph, my body responds with a shadow of acid reflux. In essence, my throat chakra - my voice - remains discomforted, experiencing a mild burning sensation...simply by sharing those messages with you. My head quickly chimes in with voices shouting about ego and obnoxious arrogance. And, as I follow my body, I find the emotion of fear weaves through my throat, trying to shut me up, in case those inner terrorists prove true.

I could make up stories about how I might have a healing impact on a wider swath of the population - meaning, what form such a phenomenon would take. Those could bear out or not. What seems to matter more - at the moment - is not the how, but my willingness. I've written many times about readiness and willingness needing to meet for a next growth step to manifest. I believe this year of honor represented a time of getting ready to get ready, while giving space for my willingness to take root. Perhaps I embrace a step toward readiness, by sharing this with you, since I willingly disclose this vulnerable message with you? I won't pretend to know.

Last weekend, I spent a day with a friend who chose "Patience" as a touchstone in 2019. When I asked what she knows about patience now that she didn't a year ago, the essence of her response mirrored my own experience. She described the importance of being patient with herself first, and how that served to calm her. It's not what she'd anticipated, and yet, what a powerful learning!

She asked if I had a word for 2020. When she queried, nothing had spiked the radar. The next morning, in a semi-sleep state, the words "Astonished - Astonishment - Astonishing" flashed in neon. I remembered this when I woke, and dismissed the vision, because how the heck are those personal growth words?! Later in the day, they rumbled in again, requiring further examination. So, I looked them up, and the essence that spoke to me is this:

Astonished
(adjective) - feeling or showing great surprise or wonderSynonyms: amazed, astounded, awestruck (also awestricken), bowled over, dumbfounded, dumbstruck, flabbergasted, shocked, stunned, stupefied, thunderstruck

Astonish
(verb) - born of French "to stun" and Latin "to thunder"; so, literally "to leave someone thunderstruck."

Astonishment
(noun) - a feeling of great surprise and wonder : the state of being astonished - OR consternation (thought to have the Latin ancestor sternere, meaning "to spread")

So, it seems I am opening to the spread of wonder, whatever form that may take. Whether I am participating in the spreading or the one thunderstruck will reveal itself in time. To me, it seems a rather daring way to approach a new decade, and specifically, this year of vision.

I'd like to thank those of you who played along with me this year, and especially those who were willing to share the unfolding and manifestations of their chosen words with me. I received some beautiful and profound responses to my queries, and my heart is full of love and gratitude for you allowing me a peek into your journey. If you'd like to play again, I welcome the company.

With love and wishes for year full of magic and wonder,

Joanne Lutz

As a sidebar of fun, I'm including some of the words that have redefined themselves to me - making it into my "short pile." These will ultimately go into a jar, to be plucked occasionally, as one might choose a Tarot card. Helping me to know where my work resides in a given moment. Maybe you'll start your own jar!

Courage - Choosing to be vulnerable in the face of fear.

Excitement - Anticipating the unknown with joy and breath.

Grace - A moment of divine intervention. The experience of the universe conspiring to support you - your journey - a situation, where the mundane and magical meet. "Graceful" means full of this kind of beauty.

Honesty - What you believe is true at a particular moment in time. For example, once upon a time, it was honest to believe the world was flat.

Honor - Appreciation, respect, and fulfillment of the sacred.

Hope - The quiet joy of possibility - free of agenda and/or attachment to an outcome.

Love - Acceptance of people and things exactly as they are in the moment. This doesn't mean you have to like what is, rather to acknowledge that it is what it is, and the person or situation is NOT yours to change.

Patience - The conscious act of opening an internal and external space for unfolding to occur. It has the marked absence of grasping for control.

Self-Love - A willingness to feel your emotions and accept yourself - free of judgment - exactly as you be in the moment.

Surrender - Willingly releasing attempts to control an outcome, thereby opening to the magic of the universe.

Truth - The reality of what is. The facts. The underlying "is-ness" of anything and everything. While it might have been honest to believe the world was flat, that did not alter the truth of the earth's round shape.