Thursday, December 8, 2011

A Word for the New Year

Today, someone asked me to choose a word for the new year. I think I will choose listen. 

Listen more carefully and fully to those around me. Don't be so quick to add, fix, blame, or judge.
Remember that my students have much to offer. Don't always be too eager to prove, to explain, to be the expert.

But now I find another kind of listening. I am pausing in the silence of my house. Usually, there's noise in my head telling me: "You're not working hard enough, you're not producing. Is this really the best use of your time?"

But with a word like listen, it also means stop listening.  Stop hearing the negative.

So I'm pausing. Waiting.  Listening to the silence and the clock ticking the seconds by. It's ok. The clock continues to tick. The good silence continues. Just listen.

What's your word going to be?

2 comments:

Sherry Uribe said...

I feel the word that would best serve me would be "purge" and having not only chosen a word for the year but actually writing it somehow makes me feel committed to it; so it is purge that will become my mantra and the word to honor and make myself accountable for in the coming year. I am excited to see what treasures and opportunities present themselves under the layers I purge.

Jeanie Frias said...

Isn't it amazing how much power a good word can have? Looking forward to hearing about the treasures and opportunities you find.