It’s the beginning of a new year, of a new decade, and a time in which many people make resolutions for the upcoming months. I personally do not set resolutions in the traditional sense as I find them to often be unrealistic and easily broken. Instead I choose a word to be my intention for the year, to be the focus of my year and the essence of what I dedicate myself to working towards for the year.
My word for this year is not what I thought it would be when I started the process of choosing a word or intention. I personally thought my word would center around new beginnings and rebuilding my life, renewal and growth and progress. But that is not what continued to come up as I worked through my process. Instead a word came up that I didn’t really want at first because it suggested big changes in my life, changes I may not prefer even if needed. After time though I saw the wisdom of this word, the gift of it as well as the loss, and it settled with me.
The word I have chosen, or that chose me, for this year is surrender. Surrendering of everything in my life that is not working for me or benefiting me. IpSurrendering of my fears and worries and doubts. Surrendering of the grief and anger over how my life has changed. But it is also surrendering to the moment, to laughter and to joy and to wonder. It is surrendering to the good as well as surrendering of the negative.
If I were to choose a word for how I would like to see the InvisibleWave and awareness of young adults with chronic illness in general progress this year I would choose impact. I want to see our stories be not only recognized but make a change, an impact, on how we are seen and treated. I want our voices to be heard and the words to bring forth awareness, understanding, and change. We deserve to not only be acknowledged but included in the decisions that impact us and in the very society that we live in. I hope we can send a message that we exist, that we matter, that we deserve to be included and represented, and that we need to be heard.
One word, one year, one intention but countless opportunities and ways to experience it and to watch it manifest itself. 365 days of impact. 365 days of Living, speaking our stories, bringing about change, impacting the world.