one little word®
The AEzine is back up and running for 2007.
For those of you that may be new to the site, the AEzine is a weekly newsletter that I started last fall. I try to incorporate bits and pieces of creative information and inspiration - geared towards scrapbooking and life (and the concept of life art). You can check out the past issues here. You can subscribe by entering your email address in the box up on the top right of this blog.
To celebrate the new year I wanted to share the one little word® concept which is also featured in this weeks newsletter:
one little word®A single word can be a powerful thing. It can be the ripple in the pond that changes everything. It can be sharp and biting or rich and soft and slow.
Last fall in issue two of this newsletter I wrote about the power of words and gave my top ten tips for getting those words down when you are scrapbooking. Today I want to introduce you to the idea that a single word can be a catalyst for enriching your life as well as your scrapbook layouts.
Last year I began a tradition of chosing one word for myself each January - a word that I can focus on, mediate on, and reflect upon as I go about my daily life. Last year my word was something I wanted to bring into my life in a more tangible way. My word was play.
I thought a lot about play and what it means to me. I tried to incorporate it more into my everyday and on my adventures out in the crazy world. For me, it was a lot about living without fear - about being more open to experiences with an attitude of playfulness. The word play found its way onto many scrapbook pages and into many stories I told throughout the year.
Can you identify a single word that sums up what you want for yourself in 2007?
It can be something tangible or intangible. It could be a thought or a feeling or an emotion. It can be singular or plural. The key is to find something that has personal meaning for you. This is not your mother's word or your spouse's word or your child's word - this is YOUR word.
One little word can have big meaning in your life if you allow yourself to be open to the possibilities. And here's one thing that is totally interesting: sometimes a word will pop into your brain and it will not make any sense to you right now. Give it some time. Let it percolate a bit. I have often found that our hearts speak to us in very unique ways. Maybe this is a word you need to hear but just aren't ready for it yet. Again, be open to the possibilities.
You may be wondering, what in the heck does this all have to do with scrapbooking? For me, words are at the heart of what I do. The photos are a huge part, but the words bring it all home. Often times I will begin a layout with a single word. That word becomes my guide as I create my page. It helps me focus the story I am trying to tell and gives me an instant, easy graphic title approach. How often has a word directed your creativity when working on layouts?
Take some time this week to think about your own word for 2007 and read on for a related
weekly challenge.And in case you were wondering, my word for 2007 is peace.
weekly challenge
This week your challenge is to create something, anything, that celebrates your chosen word for 2007. Maybe a layout. Maybe a blog posting or a journal entry or a simple post-it note that you put somewhere you can see it each day. Make sure to journal about why you chose your word and what it
means for you - the more you let yourself explore the more benefit you will receive in the end.Come by my blog and post your response to the challenge on Monday, January 8, 2007. Looking forward to seeing your creations and reading your
thoughts.
I hope everyone has a great day today. And thanks for all the super nice comments on the kit yesterday.
This is so awesome Ali! Thank you so much. My word is LIVE. I see a couple other girls have chosen it also. I just want to LIVE. So many times I've not done things because of fear, laziness, and insecurities. Life was created for us to LIVE it! Do for others and enjoy it...not just go day to day.
be happy
be useful
be creative
be a friend
LIVE
Sign in or sign up to comment.
I *FINALLY* thought of a word!!!
Mine is "participate". :)
Here's the blog entry:
http://coveringthedistance.blogspot.com/2007/01/my-one-little-word.html
Sign in or sign up to comment.
REACH
...out to friends
...for the attainable (and the thought-to-be unattainable)
...for the finish line
...for the stars
...for one of my dozen lipglosses
...into my soul
http://creatingistherapy.vox.com/
Sign in or sign up to comment.
Hello Ali,
I have never left a comment before although I've been reading your blog for a long time. I am not a scrapbooker but I just love your musings and creativity, there is something very comforting about you :)
Anyway, I really liked the idea of choosing a word for the year and it is GLOW. I have posted about it here http://www.gipsylife.com/blog/2007/01/day_4_glow.html
Thank you so much for all your inspiration.
Kerstin
Sign in or sign up to comment.
My word is *order*. In my schedule, in my house, in my priorities, in my heart. The list goes on and on. :) Thanks for this great challenge!
Robyn
Sign in or sign up to comment.
LOVE - enough said.
Sign in or sign up to comment.
As soon as I read the AEzine, I thought of the word, ENOUGH. I love when people treat me as if I am ENOUGH...I do not need to change to be accepted by them. 2007 will be about me letting people know that they are ENOUGH for me... exactly how they are. Thank you for this weeks AEzine, its realy helped me center on a goal for 2007. It will be fun and important writing about what it means to be ENOUGH and how to embrace my family and friends and treat them with respect they deserve. This first AEzine of 2007 has resonated with me and a bunch of other life artists! Thank you.
Sign in or sign up to comment.
Love all the comments and ideas that people will incorporate into their lives. I am changing it a bit and having two words POSITIVE ATTITUDE. I think that will help with every aspect of my life and will make a big impact on the lives of those that are in my life.
Thank you for the inspiration.
Sign in or sign up to comment.
My word is altruism. I need to become more altruistic in my marriage.
Sign in or sign up to comment.
my word of the month is RENOVATE!
Sign in or sign up to comment.
Wow, Ali, I'm really enjoying your challenges! Usually I'm in my own little world scrapping away, with no one to question me or to challenge me to create something out of MY box, but I feel more free to experiment all of a sudden! Thanks so much... Some of the words I'm thinking about are perspective, create, persevere, prayer and preparedness.
Sign in or sign up to comment.
EMBRACE! I will Embrace all that this year has to give me! EMBRACE!
Sign in or sign up to comment.
My word is spontaneous. I want to be more spontaneous this year with my family and do fun things without analyzing everything all the time. Sometimes I'm too uptight and rigid. My word came instantly to me when I read your challenge. I'm excited about this, thanks!
Sign in or sign up to comment.
Balance. Glad I'd thought about it before checking your site though -- there are so many good ones here -- several I considered and moved away from. Oh for a childhood picture of ye old see saw -- I think they are dangerous and gone from playgrounds now.... Off to google an image....
Sign in or sign up to comment.
Thanks for sharing this idea! I've been thinking about my word for a couple of days now. I posted my journaling for a future layout on my weblog. www.amykiane.typepad.com
Sign in or sign up to comment.
Simplify.
http://girlhysterical.blogspot.com/2007/01/word-ali-edwards-challenge.html
...241 isn't bad
Sign in or sign up to comment.
Wow! What a great idea! I had to think for a while, because I didn't quite know how to sum up what I wanted into a word. I think that word will be SIMPLIFY. I need to simplify my schedule. I need to simplify our home (including not spending money to buy more things that we don't really need). I need to simplify my day by finding more time to relax and definitely more time to pray. I need to simplify my finances by getting things paid off. I need to simplify my outlook on life so that I am happier with simpler life.
Sign in or sign up to comment.
breathe
Sign in or sign up to comment.
Mine would be POSITIVE.
I admit I have a short fuse. Not just in personal situations, but more so when I'm at work. When things get busy and there's no time for B.S. that's when I find myself getting more irritable and more negative. I'm not one that hides my emotions well, so if I'm irritated at work, it shows. I'm also in the midst of planning a wedding and I know between now and the wedding, times will get stressful. So my word for this year is POSITIVE. I need to find the positive side of things and learn how to control my emotions in all situations.
Thanks Ali!!
Sign in or sign up to comment.
So kewl that you would do this. I had already been thinking about my year, and this has just cemented it all.
My word for the year is LEARN
Heres the link to my journalling that will appear on my layout http://deesutton.typepad.com/country_photographer
Sign in or sign up to comment.
Balance - I always work toward balance as a general thing, but I'm really in "working on things" mode and that's becoming more and more clear as my focus. Balance btwn me the worker/provider, me the mama/provider and just me who I am. Balance btwn work and home. Gaining balance all around. Also happen to be a Libra and balance is key. Being out of balance in one area affects all other areas, etc, etc, etc.
(All this typing of balance is making it look like it's spelled wrong! LOL)
Sign in or sign up to comment.
My word for 2007 came to me as I sat on the Winter banks of our beautiful, wild, full-to-the-brim, rain filled Skookumchuck River.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ flow ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
As in:
"Go with the...flow." (Relax!)
"Over....flow" (Thinking along the lines of "My cup runneth over." as opposed to "Where's the Liquid Plummer?")
"Let tears...flow." (Grieve and let go of the tension of smiling through it for everyone else.)
"Like a river." (Kayak! Get out on the water more!)
With days that have so often been all starts and stops as I care for my son with Type 1 diabetes, I can get very knotted up. Working, creating, managing the lives of this family - squeezing all of that and my "self" into the nooks and crannies around his carb-counting, worrysome, shot-giving medical schedule have often left me choppy and fragmented. YUCK.
The days where I relax and create ~ ~ ~ flow ~ ~ ~ with art, breathing, and generosity, just sparkle and shine. They move along with effortless ease and everything is a wonder to me! YUM.
My new word is calligraphed, typeset, scribbled and Sumi-a -ed. My new word lives on my fridge and in my car, in my studio, and rests on my bedside table ~ where I can see it when I finally tuck in for the night.
Heartfelt thanks for this simple and powerful idea.
Thanks for {A} Word to the Wise.
:-)
Sign in or sign up to comment.
Hi Ali,
What a wonderful challenge. This challenge has really made me think about my life, how it was, how it is, and how I want it to be. I'm 37 and I don't know how many times I have thought of how I would have changed or did things differently 20 years ago. When I am 57 I do not want to look back at this time in my life and be having the same thoughts. So this has really made me think about the person and life I have now. There a few things I would change (which I am determined to do), but overall my life is great. Therefore, my word for this challenge is BETTER:
be a better wife, a better mom, a better friend, a better daughter, a better sister, a better teacher, a better manager of time, a better planner of fun, a better life artist . . . Just add some improvement to everything I do now and hopefully in twenty years I will reflect back on my late thirties and say "YEAH, that was a great time of my life."
Karen
Sign in or sign up to comment.
My word for 2007 is "Freedom". With my husband's new job, there are so many possibilites for our family this year. I can have the 'Freedom' to be debt free, after his bonus checks roll in of course. I have the 'Freedom' to be able to pay the bills on time, and have money left over to save...I feel a weight being lifted of my shoulders already. I have the'freedom' to take the kids on a real vacation, the first one ever, and that is badly needed. I have the 'freedom' to be able to move back to Iowa to be closer to friends, family, and the Remininsce scrapbook store again..ha ha. I have the 'freedom' to buy scrapbook supplies, and not feel guilty because I did. I hope to have 'freedom' to love myself the way that I am and let my demons of weight problems dissolve...along with 30lbs.! I think everyone needs to feel 'freedom' from the issues that concern them and there families...the 'freedom' to live and enjoy life.
Sign in or sign up to comment.
I thought I was being original when I thought of the word JOY as my word for the year. I am taking a Big Picture Scrapbooking class, The Art of Choosing Joy, in part because, as my two sons grow up and move into new phases of their lives, I am looking for ways to remain joyful and to enjoy their new stages. John will graduate high school in May and head off to college in August. Aaron will be a high school freshman! Yikes, when did the boys grow up? I will be looking to maintain the snese of joy that I have when I spend time with them--hiking, horseback riding, going to baseball games, watching them in marching band. This will be my word--JOY.
Sign in or sign up to comment.