if you frequent creative blogs and instagram, you will know that at the beginning of the calendar year, there is often a flurry of words…people picking a word on which to focus for the upcoming year. it’s a setting of intentions, similar but quite different from traditional resolutions. and though i didn’t share here initially, i did pick a word for 2013. i’ve done this for the past few years and it’s become a rather lovely practice. the actual process of finding a word allowing a word into your heart and then checking in with that word throughout the year is, well…it’s lovely.
genuine.
as defined by merriam-webster, genuine is an adjective meaning sincere, honestly felt or experienced; having the reputed or apparent qualities or character; actually produced by or proceeding from the alleged source or author; free from hypocrisy or pretense.
genuine.
as lived by me, genuine means that i show up. i am present for my children and husband, for extended family and friends because i love them all. it means i get myself outside because nature calls me, fills me. it means i nourish my body with healthy foods and exercise and yoga and meditation because these bring me strength and awareness. it means i make room in my life for creative endeavors because art feeds my soul and, like a domino effect, taps into every single facet of my life.
and so i must show up. in showing up, i am the genuine woman i want to be. i am mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, creative.
my word…genuine…has really become a celebration for me over the last eight months. i hold the word tenderly in my heart, check in with it now and then, journal about it…mostly i allow it to just be. but the being is assuredly tied to my willingness to show up and do the work. to wash the clothes, to tend my children, to talk to parents on the phone, to pick up pen, to pick up camera. and, at the end of the day, to maintain an open heart.
this is genuine as lived by me.
and i wonder what you think of all this. does the word genuine strike a chord for you? is there a word with which you’re working? i’d love to hear about it…
sending a little love your way, m
Michelle GD 
Oh, I love your word and how beautifully it describes the way you show up in the world! I see you connecting with a clear, honest, and open heart and that is such a genuine expression of love and curiosity and trust :)
My word for 2013 has been Possibilities … I too have found it to be like a talisman I pull out whenever fear rattles me and I need to remember what I know to be true deep at my core. I have loved this practice! So lovely to read your thoughts :)
xo
I always name my year, this is the year of EMBRACE. I want to embrace all the moments, the good ones and the not so good ones. These moments make up my life, and it’s going faster than I would like so I am trying to hang on to each little moment and really live it!
you are quite genuine. I think genuine means being truthful to yourself and others but when with others only in kind gentle supportive ways. Yesterday with friends I stopped my mind and took in the moment almost like memorizing the minute and that felt genuine.
I enjoyed your post, Michelle. At the same time, I didn’t. I didn’t like being reminded that I am not showing up for my life. I haven’t written in my blog in a couple weeks. I’ve been waiting. And waiting is a sad roller coaster ride. So, thanks for getting me thinking about what I’m not doing. Facing my dilemma is the first step in changing it.
oh, cheryl…thank you for your honesty here. i catch myself not showing up too. but i’ve found that in the catching, i can take a new step, make a new effort. i wish for no one to be hard on herself/himself because i do not believe strength lies there. rather, the strength (i believe) comes in the willingness to begin again. start where you are *today*. first steps. baby steps.
xo