AUGUST WORD OF THE MONTH

Each month I come up with a "word of the month" to sort of guide me but also reflect on where I am personally, professionally, and here in this little creative space. I've been bad at sharing these lately, but my goal for August in this space is more consistency, nope that's not the word ;). ​
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I usually come to my "word" by taking a few quiet moments, clearing my mind and waiting to see what swirls to the front. It's so crazy because immediately I will have 3 or 4 words circling around and I'll think, Yes! That's it! However I wait just a little bit longer and all the words start to fade until one becomes really clear to me and I just know. Sometimes I'm not really sure what it means in that moment but it always seems to end up making sense.
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I had a lot of words "swirling" when I woke up today: quiet, consistent, resolve, focus. None of them were "the word" though, and then it became clear: forward. I had to think on why that was the word, but it's becoming clear.

​I have to move forward.
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​Forward in this space. I've been unsure how a somewhat frivolous home blog makes sense in a world such as ours right now. Maybe it doesn't, and that's okay. It makes sense for me. When things are in spin, we revert home. I've been feeling kind of stuck lately with the blog. It's a lot of time and money for something that is a hobby, time that I maybe should be spending pursuit of other financial means, or with my family, or doing who knows what. I'm going to keep going though, I'm going to keep moving forward, I enjoy it I hope you enjoy it, and I know there's purpose in it even if I don't know what it is yet. Forward may also mean making some bolder choices here, I'm going to be open to it.
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Forward in my professional life. I recently got a new position at work, one that I feel both excited and nervous about. It's a particularly crazy year in education to be taking on a new role, but...I'm moving forward.
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Forward in my relationships with family and friends. In the past few years I pulled back from friendships where I felt like I was doing the majority of the investing. At the time, I had too much happening personally and needed to really just focus in and so I did a bit of a "purge." I didnt' "cut off" or "end" any friendships, I just stopped investing. I'm not sure if it was the right thing to do, it was what I needed at the time, but I'm ready to move forward now. I'm going to be open to renewing, reconnecting, and reinvesting where the opportunities come with family and friends.
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Forward in my kitchen! You know I had to bring it up. I've been stalled on the kitchen renovation. It could have been finished months ago, but for some reason I just haven't been able to get myself to finish it. So I'm moving forward, I'm finishing it, and moving on to the next project.
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Forward in life. There have been some disappointments, things we thought would happen, places we thought we would go, visions that just aren't going to be. Letting go of what I thought it would look like and leaning in to what it does look like I'm moving forward.  ​
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That's all any of us can do, right? Move forward as best we can with what we have and the people we have. The future feels very uncertain right now, and so much is unknown, but we keep moving, because there is no other alternative. ​
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So dear friends, forward is my word for the month. What does that mean for this space? It means I'm back, and I'm giving myself freedom to take it in whatever direction it wants to move, as long as that direction is forward!
 
Do you have a word of the month? ​