(I just sent this as an email to my subscribers.)
I love words. As the old year draws to an end, I choose a word that I hope will have resonance in the year ahead.
I used to choose the words myself, but for the last few years I’ve embraced the idea of using a random word generator.
My random word for 2021 was “Scene.” After the isolation of 2020, I certainly did hope to have a change of scene in 2021. And we did! If you’ve followed along at “Big Blue Adventures,” you’ve seen some of the scenes we could not have foreseen!
Just now I generated my word for 2022, specifying that I’d like a verb. I got: “Cast.” It immediately reminded me of the verse in Ecclesiastes 11: “Cast your bread upon the waters: for after many days you shall get it back.”
Every time I write something and send it off, I have the image of flinging it out into the world — casting it far from me — trusting it will be of value to someone somewhere. I realize that I will never know if, or how, it was helpful.
It was this attitude that prompted me to begin writing Big Blue Adventures, my latest newsletter project. I have no idea if it will be “worthwhile” (whatever that means in terms of effort expended and results enjoyed). I sincerely hope you will scroll through the archives and see if any of the posts appeal to you — click on that one. If you enjoy it, I hope you’ll subscribe.
What’s YOUR word for 2022?
(I suggest you Google “Random Word Generator” if you want to play around with words.)
Let me also note — there are a couple of words I would have rejected, had they been randomly generated. Certain words have been overused the past two years. I personally never want to be told to “pivot” again. Pivot is a verb implying control and finesse. It seems entirely at odds with my experience these past two years, in ministry and in life.
What word would you ABOLISH from your 2022 if you could?
What word BECKONS you for the year ahead?
I took this photo on Dec 6 in Great Basin NP. The clouds to the left hide a mountain, and the ruts in the foreground lead “nowhere” (as we tend to describe wilderness). This might be a good visual reminder to trust and let go as I “cast” my work into the world in 2022.
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