Every January, we set aside a day to assess where we’re at and plan for the year ahead. We call it our “Blue Day” (a more detailed description of it can be found in our free e-book, Fight With Me). We always begin our Blue Day with a bit of silence and solitude, out of which usually arises a word that becomes our theme for the year. For 2018, our word is WONDER.
For Tim, WONDER is the image of our two daughters exploring the beach on Mayne Island last summer: the spirit of adventure and curiosity and paying attention to what they see. 2018 comes with the invitation for Tim to approach his relationship with God, himself, me, our daughters, family, friends, and clients, with wonder. He desires to stay curious, to discern what is true about each person, to affirm and encourage each person’s vision and calling. In practicing wonder, Tim hopes to exercise his analytical strength to see people as God sees them.
For me, WONDER is primarily more internally focused. It is the image of me hosting a dinner (think Last Supper of Christ) and at the table with me are my various emotions and facets of who I am. I have been exploring the Enneagram as a tool for self-understanding and realizing that I often detach from my emotions for the sake of feeling more at peace (I’m a type 9 on the Enneagram – to learn more about it, this book and this book are great places to start). My invitation, my pathway to being fully alive, is to engage those emotions – sort of like inviting them to stay for supper. When I picture these emotions, they are like children (because children experience their emotions with their entire beings, without filters or censorship). Hosting a table-full of children feels rather stretching and scary for me. But I know this is the hard inner-work that needs to be done for me to move toward greater maturity and freedom.
WONDER is also an invitation to welcome whatever happens this year with curiosity, attentiveness, and grace. We’re looking forward to what this year will bring and who we will become as we are shaped by life and move deeper into Love.