2024 - a year to FLOW

This post is well overdue. It's already January 12 and people have stopped saying "Happy New Year" already. I have been thinking about telling you about my plans for the New Year (and writing about how the year 2023 was for me..) Of course due to my aphasia, I thought I had all the words I needed, but I simply couldn't get them out. So from thought to actualization, this blog post has taken me about 2 1/2 months. (sounds about right!)

NOTE: If you are new here to my blog, please go to the home page to learn more about me and why I write this blog.

I started this blog in 2020. That year I only posted once. I can hardly believe it has been that long. This week, a say this saying, "The days are long, but the years are short." Isn't that the truth?

Every year for the past three years, I have been writing about the year that has past and sharing my thoughts on the New Year and what I hope it will bring (my goals and my word of the year.). In case you haven't read this posts, my words of the year have been:

2021 - JOY

2022 - intentional

2023 - Light

In 2020, I experienced depression and anxiety from the stroke and needed to feel JOY again. That is why Joy was my word of the year in 2021. This was a very successful word of the year. I was finally able to find a psychologist who helped me.

The 2022 word of the year was intentional. This year was not as dramatic as the previous year, but I did made intentional decisions that worked for me.

Last year, I decided to focus on my light and how I could use it to make the world a bit better and I also found my personal light in my spiritual life grow stronger. When I set Light as my word of the year, I wrote "As we work to create the Light in others, we naturally light our own way". I think this true for me last year.

Examining the past year (2023) I had many accomplishments:

• created and ran Finding Our Voices, a public speaking group for people with Aphasia

• blogged fairly regularly and participated in the Ultimate Blog Challenge

• created a YouTube channel and started a podcast called "Aphasia Moments"

• created a Facebook support group for people with Aphasia, Apraxia and Dysarthria

• continued to volunteer with Chemo Angels as a writing Angel

• expanded volunteer with Chemo Angels as a Special assignment Angel and Prayer Angel

• 4th anniversary of stroke

• renewed apartment in VA (spending more time with my daughter and granddaughter

• continued to organize and facilitate Aphasia Conversation Group

• created and ran a New Aphasia Conversation Partners group

• participated in more aphasia research studies (UMass, University of Indiana, Purdue)

• finished RI Hospital project and presented it to them (with Just ASKs help)

• participated in Dr. Stark's public speaking group (PSLC)

• confession and in person mass

• painting walls

• # XX blogs posted

• Reiki II and Master attunements

God's Blessing in 2023:

• Kiera

• My family and our health

• My aphasia friends

Now that I have shared my recollection of 2023, I would like to share my thoughts on this coming year - 2024!

My 2024 word of the year is FLOW. I originally thought of flow as a passive word but as I read about it, reflected on it in meditation with scripture and thought about how one flows down a river (thanks to an article on the Daily OM which I can't find now or I would share it with you). Flow involves three things: awareness, presence, and energy. These are the things I intend to focus on this year. If you don't know about setting a word of the year, here is an article I read. For me, I start to think about what word I want to set in November or December. I write possible words that have meaning for me based on what I want more of (more time with family and especially Kiera, my granddaughter, more time with God, being more present) what I want less of (less anxiety) and how I want to feel the next year (being of service to others). I look for signs - words I see often that touch my heart, songs I hear, bible phrases that resonate. And then use the word I set at the beginning of the year to create goals for myself.

Of course the word of the year may change or morph into another word later in the year. But I hope that I set a word that can have meaning and can give me what I want to focus on and have.

They say that announcing goals helps you achieve them. Here are some of some my goals for 2024. I'm sure I will write more about them as the year progresses. This year I am also attending Colette Baron-Reid's Vision Board Challenge and I am creating a full Vision Board. (In years past, I have made a very simple vision board without this much thought.). On this year's Vision Board, I will put goals and intentions that match my word the year.

24 in 2024 Goals:

• 24 blog posts

• 24 outings with Kiera

• 24 episodes of Aphasia Moments podcast

• 24 stories for memoir

This is the year I intend to focus on writing my story. I will continue to write the blog but also want to make it more formal. I will let Spirit decide what form it will take: published short stories or memoir or ???

Stay tuned to what happens this year. I think it will be a fun year.

Until next time....