What is your word of the year?

Grand adventures await those who are willing to turn the corner.
Chinese fortune cookie

And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been.
Rilke

Towards the end of 2024 I began thinking about a word of the year for 2025, something I have been doing for some time. A word of the year is a guide for the coming year. It’s the lens through which to experience day to day life and make decisions. I love the economy of it.  For three years in a row my word was Fun!

It was not easy to decide on a word for 2025. The steady diet of bad news in our deeply divided world, some of it from leaders who do not inspire confidence, fills me with apprehension. Toward the end of 2024, I found myself cranky and out of sorts- wandering around in a dark wood while a turbulent storm raged.

And then one day, while sliding down a hole of rumination, clarity poked its head, and I thought to myself: what a waste of time and energy!

It would be easier to disengage and keep the circle of living small as a way of ignoring the bad stuff, but eventually that would get tiresome.  And so, in a spirit of hope- or rebelliousness- I decided my word of the year would be Adventure. It’s a word that nudges me beyond my comfort zone to land in a new wild place.  

No- I am not planning to go skydiving or do something that feels unsafe.  There is no intention to be self-indulgent, dismissive of the needs of others, or foster an inflated sense of entitlement. I want to limit the negativity and malaise that can creep into the day and suck the oxygen out of the room.

The word Adventure is a reminder to look at life in a different way. To try something new. Take a risk. Be curious.  I have a few ideas:

Talk to a stranger regularly
Extend hospitality
Help others out more often
Learn a new skill
Ride a motorcycle (as a passenger)
Try different cuisines
Travel on my own
Do one fun and zany thing each week.

I could easily have chosen other words that convey a sense of agency: change, thrive, explore, curiosity, or nourish. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is refusing to be drawn into of a narrative that sows division and discord.

There is much happening in the world today that is very good.  Sometimes we need to look hard to find it, but it is there. I can wring my hands and brace myself for more bad news. But if there was ever a time to turn the corner and  seize the moment it is now. If there was ever a time to help others, it is now.

I am going forward in 2025 with eyes wide open and a spirit of hope. As a start, I am taking up line dancing.  It is so much fun! I miss steps and go the wrong direction sometimes, but so what. I just keep going and laugh along the way.  And for a brief time, the turbulence of the storm abates, and I enjoy the moment.

My thanks to Sue Empringham and Alan Cohen for the quotes.