My Word for the Year

I’ve been feeling a little Holidazed & Confused. How about you? These days after Christmas and the New Year can often lead to the post-holiday blues, and a hard time focusing and getting started in the New Year. Are you feeling it too? In an attempt to combat it, I’m trying to focus on my word for the year (I finally came up with one!). Read about it below and please share your Word for the Year as well. I am always so curious and inspired!

 My Word for the Year

My word for 2023 is light. It only hit me a few moments after I selected it that “light” is literally in my name… well my blog name that is: Golightly.

Naturally, light can have many meanings, but I was pondering on how I want to FEEL throughout the year, and I want to feel free and light. I can’t actually remember if I chose a word last year, but my guess would be it was FREE. I wanted to feel free-spirited and free of so many fears holding me back. I’ll elaborate on that more soon, but the TLDR is I made huge strides. Seeing as such, this year I want to take the newfound feeling of freedom and go forth lightly into the world. On a bigger level, to travel and explore with a sense of lightness, but on the most basic everyday level, to literally be lighter.

What does that mean?

That means I’ve become so conscious of the way I do the smallest things. Things such as washing my hands or my face or brushing my teeth. If it’s something you’ve never observed in yourself, I recommend doing so. I was shocked at how hard I do these everyday things. How tensely I’m holding my toothbrush, how vigorously I’m scrubbing my hands together, how roughly I’m washing my face.

Did you see the meme that went around during the holidays that said “unclench your jaw?” That’s really what got me to thinking along these lines.

Even how hard I am typing these words right now — how my breath becomes more shallow as I think and my muscles tense up. When I notice this, I now simply whisper to myself in my head “light.” I take a deep breath in and relax.

It’s such an enlightening (no pun intended) exercise. I think it also helps explain why, even when I have the luxury and privilege of lots of lounging time, I never truly feel relaxed. I think when I am doing these things unnecessarily heavily or harshly, it’s signaling to my body that I should be tense. It’s like a self-reinforcing loop.

So, now that I am practicing lightness, I feel like my body is getting the message that it’s safe and can relax. A work in progress to be sure, but I hope my sharing might help you as well.

Again, I’ll share more on this in another post, but that’s my word for the year: LIGHT. And I hope to move through the world this year more lightly. In mind and body,

What’s Your Word For the Year?

How about you? Do you choose a word for the year?

If so, I’d love to hear yours and why you chose it. Leave in the comments below.

What I’m Wearing

Caftan: Frances Valentine c/o (use code KLFV17 for 17% off!; if between sizes, size down — I”m wearing an XS)

Shoes: Loeffler Randall (size up one size)

Giant Ornaments: Holiballs

Candy Canes: here

Photography by Fred Moser