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This year my One Little Word has been an active exercise in mindful balance; a bending and flexing of conscious intentions. More than years past, this year the monthly directives have complimented the serendipity of my life’s change with invitations to greater presence.

Designed by Ali Edwards, the guided monthly prompts keep me more firmly tethered to the spirit of my New Year’s Eve’s wishes. September’s assignment directed me to consider the pace of my days, the space of rest, and celebratory acknowledgments of simple joys as they pertain to my chosen word: wholehearted.

The timelines of this prompt allowed me to reflect on the day-to-day experience of my family’s adjustments as I stretched beyond familiar routines to embrace new experiences outside our home. I’ve shuffled priorities and adjusted my expectations, created new rhythms from old routines.

The pace of my days has been unhurried and intentional. I’ve taken comfort in the predictability within my priorities; I’m utilizing my time more productively, but I’m also resting more intentionally. I’m grateful that our schedule as a family was calm enough to incorporate change without toppling our collective patience even as I recognize that we are in the honeymoon phase of change.

For now there is still time enough for the quiet cup of coffee before sunrise and a simple homemade breakfast. My husband and I still cherish the short walk to the bus stop to see our children off to school. At this moment change has been less a sacrifice and more a reorganization of existing responsibilities.

I no longer indulge in late nights between pages of a new story or lengthy morning bike rides. There isn’t time enough to write in the familiar hours with reckless disregard for time. Instead I am making time intentionally for those beloved interests, while spending less time drifting between errands. Gone is the urgent impulse to move, in its place is a physical contentment with mid-day stillness as my thoughts chase new ideas over temporary distraction.

If rest is as much about nourishment in activity as it is replenishment in sleep, then joy is an old friend and a new awareness.

I’ve found greater joy in existing practices at home and discovered happy surprises at work. I like the simplicity of my tasks at the library, the sense of accomplishment in measurable goals. I’m remembering how rewarding work used to feel; the purposefulness and appreciation of a task well-done the same way I’m savoring my children’s curiosity and pride in my new adventures.

Joy is also countless small things with little rhyme or reason.

This month I’ve celebrated the crunch of early autumn leaves and late summer sunshine, birthday cake and sappy love stories. I’ve delighted in a friend’s remembrance of my childhood love of elephants and the sound of other friends singing to my voicemail. New classes and weekend dinners with old friends.

September has been a month of happy celebrations and everyday moments bound by joy and mindfulness. Even as the days shorten and the air turns cooler, I am holding the lesson of this month close as we usher in Autumn’s traditions and Winter’s holidays.

Tagged: Joy, Musings, One Little Word, Wholehearted