Word of the Year 2021

And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. ~Khalil Gibran

It has been almost a year and a half since I have visited this space, this place that houses my thoughts and dreams. It holds the drafts of many ideas that have not come to fruition yet. And I have longed to be back here many times. But something held me off, kept me away whispering it is not time to return. As this year has dawned, I have decided it is time to gaze again at the pages, and words and my desires.

It has been a rough year for everyone, but an extremely hard one for me. We decided in the fall of 2019 to sell our lovely home and garden of 15 years, and downsize to a place where we could easily maintain the space. And while I love the garden, it had become too much for my body to handle. I found a gardener who was eager to tame the land we left, and we packed our bags sold half our belongings and moved back to our hometown 25 minutes away.

We settled quickly into our rental ranch-style (all one floor) townhome. It felt like home, and we were eager to explore the area, and start a small garden in the spring. But as spring dawned in March, I lost my beloved mother. Cancer had struck and killed in her within a week just as lockdowns were starting. We had no warning. and as soon as I heard the words, ‘she’s gone,’ my heart and soul hit the floor and I was plunged into deep grief. The pain and loss were unbearable, but I decided to return to what I knew would help ease me; nature and my words. I embarked on #the100dayproject telling about my grief and recounting my mom’s story and mine. It evolved into such a healing journey. And once the 100 days were over I took a needed sabbatical.

Soon after that, I had a bad fall in the house. I later learned that I had cracked and dislocated many ribs, not to mention severely spraining my ankle and reinjuring my lower back. It took many months of recovery, but I am back to normal with little residual pain.

A couple months after the fall, I started a journaling course that was tied to reconnecting to your inner child. That course really allowed me to see that I was still in the workaholic mind frame even after 6 years of retirement. I was not connected to play or fun, and it was time I moved on and left the work mindset behind.

And now we have just passed through the ending of the previous year. A year of deep soul-searching and reflection. As part of that reflection, I usually look for a guiding word to help ground me for the coming year. And my inner child spoke to me loudly with a word that was perfect; DELIGHT! My intention for this year is to tune into delight. To look for the brilliance and poetry and magic that is all around me. To do those things I have longed to do, and even revisit a few that I haven’t done for a long, long time. And with each project or task I undertake, I am asking myself, “Does this delight me?” If the answer is no, then I will move on or look for ways it could delight me.

I am unsure where the journey will lead this year. But I hope to visit this wonderful space where my heart sings more and more. I want to show you our new home, and all the nature and sights around us. To reveal our little garden and how it is evolving. And to exhibit any new projects and delights I am attempting with a gentle nudge from my inner child. I hope you will journey with me. When I am not here, I can be frequently found on Facebook or Instagram storytelling and regaling folks with my latest adventures.

All the pictures shared in this post were taken with my Nikon Coolpix or iPhone camera, and manipulated on my iPhone using the apps, Pixlr and Prisma.

I will be posting poetry again soon, on my other blog, Living From Happiness. I hope you’ll drop by.

All original content is copyrighted and the sole property of Donna Donabella @ Gardens Eye View, 2010-2021.  Any reprints or use of content or photos is by permission only.