Happy New Year! I hope that however you spent the last couple of weeks, it offered you what you need: rest or activity, company or solitude, or maybe all of the above!

For several years now, many people I know have chosen a “word of the year” to serve as inspiration and an anchor for their year. Often this is in place of more traditional “New Year’s Resolutions” that you either succeed or fail at, like quitting a bad habit, or achieving some measurable goal (miles walked, dollars saved, or the elusive “Inbox Zero” where your email inbox is empty). A word of the year feels gentler, to me—an aspiration rather than another “must do” in my life. I can strive for it without worrying about perfection.

This year is my first year choosing a word, and it took me a while to decide. I admired words chosen by friends, things like “Play” or “Attend.” Eventually,  I chose “Presence.” For me this is about a couple of things. It means being fully present to whoever I am with in a given moment, whether a loved one, a stranger, or anywhere between those two. It means being attentive to the present moment, even in smaller details: things like savoring the food I eat rather than multitasking during meals when I eat alone. (I am particularly guilty of eating lunch at my desk while I work, paying very little attention to the food.) It means being more in the present than the past or the future: of course I will still remember the past and plan for/imagine the future, but I aspire to have most of my mental energy be focused on “now” rather than “then.” I’m sure additional facets of Presence will make themselves apparent throughout 2024!

If this practice appeals to you—or maybe is already a tradition for you—I’d enjoy hearing about your 2024 Word of the Year and why you chose it!

In gratitude,
Rev. Diana