New Year

EMBRACE–my word of the year for 2019

January 14, 2019 by Melodye Shore

“Whatever the present moment contains, embrace it as if you had chosen it yourself.” — Eckhart Tolle

I’ve long since traded away the idea of New Year’s resolutions for a one-word theme. A single word with layered meanings—an action verb and a way of being. After mediating about it for a good long while, I chose EMBRACE as my Word of the Year for 2019.

I know, I know: I’m running with the pachyderms, lagging way behind. No judgment, though: Let’s embrace this moment, celebrate the now! Speaking of which, it seems apropos to include some of my favorite exhibits at the Chinese Lantern Festival–an annual event that embraces old and new equally, and breathes new life into ancient traditions.

Let’s start with a simple definition. Embrace means: to clasp or hold close with the arms, usually as an expression of affection, as in a hug. It can also mean: to include as part of something broader. And here’s the kicker: to take up willingly and enthusiastically.

It’s a catch-all word, embrace, applicable to virtually every aspect of our lives. Here’s how I want to apply it, in 2019:

EMBRACE NEW FRIENDSHIPS: If we’re long-time friends, I’ll hug your neck every time I see you. Not so, if we’re meeting up for the very first time. In fact, you might be surprised to learn that I’m a bit of an introvert. Small talk? Not for me. Large parties? Nosiree. But here’s the thing: I want to switch things up a bit this year. Mind you: High-fives and handshakes are perfectly fine. I’ll embrace whatever makes you comfortable. But because I value deep friendships, I want to get better at moving past “How-do-you-do” to “Bring it on in.”

EMBRACE ADVENTURE: More wheeee than whoa!—that’s my motto. Know me for a minute, and you’ve got my number on that. But here’s the caveat: I’m not always as cautious as I could be, nor am I as nimble as I’d like. Boy howdy, I’ve got the scars to prove it! But hmmm…you know what I’m really good at? Brushing off the dust, embracing the lessons, and moving on. So this one’s pretty easy: In 2019, I plan on jumping into new adventures with both feet –eyes on the prize, no looking backward.

EMBRACE PHYSICAL CHANGES: The woman in my mirror looks very different, now, than the image I’ve always pictured in my mind’s eye. Oh sure, I can climb rocks and plant roses. I challenge myself on the regular, take long walks and read up a storm. But time stands still for no one. So 2019 is about physical conditioning and acceptance, agility and endurance. No put-downs allowed! Better to embrace life’s transitions with open arms, I think, than to waste time worrying about the inevitable.

EMBRACE ALL THAT I AM, AND WHO I AM MEANT TO BE: Compliments make me uneasy, and it’s doubly hard for me to toot my own horn. But we need to start with a baseline, right? So here goes. I’m an optimist by nature. I’m open-minded, curious, and creative. I lead with my heart. I want to embrace (and strengthen) my superpowers, in the service of a meaningful life. I need also to recognize their polar opposites, in myself and in others. How better to distinguish healthy behaviors from destructive tendencies, embracing differences while affording ourselves grace?

EMRACE ALL THAT 2019 HAS TO OFFER, but release expectations. No gripping. No grasping. Even with all that squeezing, a Facebook friend suggests, things can (and do) slip through our fingers.

In 2019, I’m embracing the moment. Breathing in, breathing out. Being here, now.

Living in a state of wide-eyed wonderment. Grateful all that’s good, pure, and lovely in the world. Lit from within by the Source of all light.

My 2017 Word of the Year is RISE

January 5, 2017 by Melodye Shore

We worked together for several months last year, co-creators of a super-secret project for Hillary Clinton. Two women from opposite sides of the country–upstate New York and Southern California–who shared the same vision and purpose.

Though we’d never met in person, we fell into an easy rhythm. Creativity flowed, as it does when ego’s not an issue. When my new friend fell sick, I filled my planner pages with to-do lists and affirmations, colorful sketches and motivational stickers. She poked fun at those stickers, but it was laughter that helped get us through the more difficult days of her cancer treatments. Oh, and the harbor seals. Hashtag: #StrongerTogether

On Election Day, we finally went public with the news we’d been sitting on, for what seemed like forever:

I could hardly contain my excitement. Pollsters predicted an early, easy victory. But as everyone now knows, Election Night was holding back some surprises of its own.

Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, but the Electoral College twisted the other way. Our hopes and dreams, aspirations and efforts…reduced to ashes, inexplicably and unimaginably so.

We explored Manhattan over the next several days, reveling in our friendship despite the pain, and reaching for the proverbial candle in the dark.

15016257_1433501606664831_8667545955135573185_o

My tweet that morning: A beautiful day at the WTC Memorial Tower. We are a resilient nation and people. #NeverForget

But once I got home, well. I couldn’t bring myself to talk about the election results for weeks, much less the video that would never have an audience.

Slowly, eventually…light overcame the dark. Hope stirred; optimism reawakened.

The time eventually came when I could once again look to the future with clear, dry eyes.

The moment came when I decided to take some deep, cleansing breaths. I am an optimist, after all. I’m not immune to injury and sorrow, but I do have an indomitable spirit.

And so it was that, one sunny afternoon in late December, I ventured down to Laguna Beach. Freckles was lounging on the rocks, as usual, smiling that ubiquitous seal-smile of his and waving his flipper. Adorable. Irresistible. Irrepressible.

In that peaceful island cove, I reflected on the pendulum swing between Election Night and the restorative nature of the sea. And I remembered something I’d once read about being simultaneously courageous and vulnerable:

During the process of rising, we sometimes find ourselves homesick for a place that no longer exists. We want to go back to that moment before we walked into the arena, but there’s nowhere to go back to. What makes this more difficult is that now we have a new level of awareness about what it means to be brave. We can’t fake it anymore. We now know when we’re showing up and when we’re hiding out, when we are living our values and when we are not. Our new awareness can also be invigorating—it can reignite our sense of purpose and remind us of our commitment to wholeheartedness. Straddling the tension that lies between wanting to go back to the moment before we risked and fell and being pulled forward to even greater courage is an inescapable part of rising strong. –Brené Brown

Voilà! Like a pearl, hidden inside a rough shell, I discovered my 2017 Word of the Year:

RISE.

Isn’t that just perfect? I’m no fortune teller, but I predict I’ll be amazed at the many ways this word will manifest itself this year, in my life and in the world around me.

PS I created these posters in Canva, using my own pictures. You are welcome to use them, so long as you leave my watermark intact. (Just now learning, so they’re not perfect, but this is how you raise the bar.)