My Word of the Year 2020

When I chose Simplify in 2018 it did a lot of good for me. I took it a little ahead and still it helped me find the good in chaos. So, when I planned the word for 2019, I went to the edge and decided on Calm. Though my year was nowhere close to calm, I had to agree, amidst all the chaos (both internal and external), I made peace with what I cannot control and ended the year feeling better. 2019 was more about surviving it in reality than anything else.

During the last week of 2019, when I sat down to decide on a word for 2020, there was just one word that actually came to me. Unlike the first two years where I had to decide from many words, this year was different. During the middle of 2019, I really thought I’d choose Taking Responsibility as my word for 2020. However, by the end of the year, I knew there was something more necessary than that. It is communication. What good would taking responsibility do for me if I did not know how to Communicate.

Gone are the days when I could smile and give a welcome speech. I get the same feeling when it comes to addressing people. There were times I felt I belong to the hospitality team. It was easy to smile and address everyone I met. Now, it all feels like another world to me. Since it’s an important skill and an effective one at that I thought I will handle it this time. I have a small verse for my vision this year.

At times I think, I live in a vicious world. At most times, I believe it’s my thoughts and feelings that believe everyone and everything and then go a full round. Anyway, anger isn’t one of the traits that’ll help unless it’s the right kind of anger. So I’ve decided to work on it through a communication method I recently learned.

I’m sure you’ve heard about the 5 Chairs Method by Louise Evans. After I decided my word, I began my first lesson, to know just one method that I can understand and follow. To hold myself accountable for everything I say. When I say something, I want to define the emotion, it could be anger, fear, being judgemental, shame, guilt, love or kindness. You’ll appreciate this method. It’s been two weeks and I’m tracking which chair I sit on everyday.

Isn’t self-love and self-care a part of my life, this year? Finally, what’s there to my life without ME?

As much as I love to write about my dear husband and myself endearingly, this verse is about another love. Since my sister belongs to the family of Martial Arts, I was lucky enough to visit their institute often. I’ve often admired people swirling the Silambam stick. I would watch it with great wonder. Imagine what it would be like to figure out that I could actually swirl it on my own. I’m learning how to and I’ve never been happier. Fingers crossed, it still flies around sometimes, but I know I’d swirl it better than today within a year. I listened to an instructor saying that practicing swirling the stick everyday doesn’t just make us better at it, but it acts as a protective shield and keeps negativity at bay.

Many associate reading to being lonely. I tell them I feel better when I am alone then. Isn’t it true? It could look like a loner activity, but what some don’t realize is, it opens to a world of people I would love to live with. Through reading, I have learned to appreciate people in my life in a better way which helps me learn to question them in a reasonable way nowadays.

I have a small pact for books this year and I will write about it soon.

Again, as much as this fits our relationship, this one is for my dearest blog and my morning pages diary. Writing keeps me sane, it is one of the best things I’d like to associate myself with always. You’d find me sitting down, typing madly on my phone. It’s mostly the only reason I wake up early? You’d find me writing a storm in a notebook, like I am answering questions from a question paper with a timer ON. Anyway, we all do these, don’t we?

This is the one for my relationship. Gone are the days where we put our needs on the back burner and gave our best for everyone. Nothing will change, we will still put our best foot forward, we will just put it together. Otherwise, the two precious verses (above) still holds good for our relationship.

When it comes to describing my daughter, I cannot do it without a smile. At 2.6 years, she is a teacher to me in many ways. She loves to practice Kung Fu with her chithi(aunt) as much as she loves to help Ammama (grandmother)with her cooking. She holds the Silambam like an expert and she says she practices fast running just like her brother taught her. Did I tell you she already wants to take Joy, our let mongrel for a walk.

She is off to play school now and though I love to finish home chores before we pick her up, we surely miss her so much. A small person away at school for two hours felt like an army went to sleep. Such a lovely atmosphere it is when we have little ones around.

She talks like a bird sings. Though she showers me with unconditional love, my love often comes with conditions as a mother. Otherwise, my daughter is my world. She has brought warmth and sunshine back and it’s all shining bright. Her hugs and kisses make my day.

Parenting is a different category. Love hugs, cuddles and kisses are there, but when it comes to business, I mean it. I’m not going to argue about beating or not beating a child here. To each her own. Have you heard of the saying,

Give a child his will and give a whelp his fill and neither will thrive.

Parenting is a tough job. There were occasions where she had to deal with my anger. However, I feel wrong about those, because most important of all is having a good environment for a child to grow. When grandparents or parents are setting wrong examples, even in basic habits, it’s not the child who is supposed to be punished.

Now, instead of lifting my hands to harm her, I’ve started to tickle her and put some sense into her to get her things done. Go back and read my verse again.?

I’d like to handle mine well this year. I might have done a few things wrong, but it’s realizing it and changing it for the better that helps.

This is my 2020 plan for Communicate. More about my experience and experiments in the coming posts.

What’s your word and what’s your plan? I’d love to know.