Image by Sharon Brogan
via Creative Commons
I have long given up making resolutions.
Instead, I choose a Word of the Year.
I like how malleable a word can be over the course of a year.
This year, I am choosing BREATH(E). Yes, I put parentheses around the final letter to create a two-for-one word:
breath and breathe: noun and verb.
I like the verb breathe because the form is a command. "Breathe!" invites me to stop, live in the moment, relax, and to take an inventory.
When I breath, I create a pause between stimulus and response.
Breathing helps me to slow pulse, slow my blood pressure, slow down my speech, slow down my physical activity, and slow down my thought process.
I like the noun breath because it is associated with spirit or the divine force. In Hebrew, God breathes life into Adam. The same word (ruak or RUE-AWK) is translated as not only as breath but also as wind and spirit.
Spirit. Inspiration. Respiration. Breath(e).
In the gospel of John, Jesus appears to the disciples in a locked room and says, "Peace be unto you." Then he breathes on them and says, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22).
That is some powerful use for breath!
Here's to a year dedicated to slowing down and reflecting.
Related:
Word of the Year for 2022: Smaller
Word of the Year for 2021: Witness
Word(s) of the Year for 2020: Humility and Compassion
(I cannot find a post about my 2019 WOTY)
