What’s Your Word for 2024?
Make it count
Well, by the time you receive this you most likely, like myself, have pulled yourself out of the holiday slumber and are now in full swing of the new year.
I have a few practices I do at this time of year that I will share. On New Year’s Eve, I make a list of what I am leaving behind for that year. Then another list comes of what I am bringing forth from that year to the next. I burn both and release them into the Universe. This year I did so with a little Reggaton mix on Spotify while dancing around my kitchen. LOL.
Next up is what I am bringing to you today…..the word for the year.
I have done this for some years now. I will quickly chronicle them for you.
2019 may have been the first year. That word was
PLAY
2019 was pretty playful. I am sure you are a bit like me and find the years before the big “C” to be a little hard to remember. LOL. But I do remember that I went to Costa Rica that year and it was so fun. I fell in love with the people, the jungle, the monkeys and of course the sunshine.
2020’s word was….
SHIT SHOW
Just kidding. Honestly if I did choose a word in January of that year, I do not remember. Again, that one was a blur.
2021 was…
FREE
Without going into details, I will just say that it was the previous year that helped me realize just how much of a free spirit I really am. I went all out in 2021 mostly because I felt like a caged animal.
I got my free bird tattoo with the heart it it’s beak to signify my free spirit and in 2022 I added the North Star to it.
I took horseback riding lessons which WAS on tap for 2020 but well you know how that went. I started running 5ks so I could be around other people in a joyous atmosphere. I found that it was fun and have kept it up ever since. In short, I basically went out there and did whatever I could to have as much fun as possible given the times.
2022 was….
RELEASE
More pandemic BS (LOL) but I will just say that “those times’ forced me to realize a lot about myself and about the people I was surrounded by. It was a year of off loading a whole ton of shit. And people. I basically cleared space for 2023 which brought me to…
RECEIVE
Aw and receive I did; in big and small ways. In fact none of it was very small or insignificant. 2023 helped me to work on something I will share with you which is leading me to my word for this year.
I will just say I am a very strong woman. An old friend used to call me “the warrior.” I know that I have a strong personality and now more fully embrace and love that about myself. But like any parts of our personality or things about us…they can have a dark side; it’s the other side of the coin so to speak. I have come to realize that parts of my strength and independence have been more about surviving rather than thriving.
Generally I often feel like this woman in this picture.
I realize that I have become so proud of being a strong, ambitious, and independent woman that it makes it hard sometimes for me to receive help; of any kind really. I saw myself over the past year being broken down in various ways and realizing not only that I needed help but how absolutely ridiculous it was of me to feel badly about that.
As they say in spiritual circles, the Unvierse was kicking my ass so I would look at just how ironically ridiculous I was being.
I saw this silly Instagram reel (usually not my bag which is why you probably will never see me make them) but it made me laugh because it was SO me. I forget what she said but I will give you my version…
“I need you to know that I can carry all of the groceries and laundry detergent and anything else in the car up three flights of steep stairs by myself but….I would also appreciate your help. But I do also need you to know I can do it myself.”
“I need you to know that I am fully self sufficient and have and will, if needed, weather any storm that comes my way on my own but…I really do appreciate your help. But I also need you to know that I can do it myself.”
Something like that and the list goes on and on.
So cutting to the chase this year’s word builds off of last….
ALLOW
Oh, is this going to be a year, I can already feel it. This word came up in a session with my breathwork practioner Tara Nieves Green. When I last saw her and was telling her a story she stopped me and said
“I need to pause you right there. It’s allowing that is the work for you. All the support is there, you just need to let go and allow.”
I have a sneaky suspicion that I will have plenty of opportunities to work on this one this year. I have had a feeling for a while that the work I did last year will only deepen this year opening me up to really realizing the true gift of reciprocity.
I share all of this to inspire you to think about choosing a word. It works much like a vision board if you have heard of those (I will share more about that at a later date.). All you need to do is choose whatever word rises up from deep down and watch how the Universe gives you opportunities to shift and change.
What’s your word for the year? Leave a comment below!
And now for some yummy delights!
Dark Chocolate Almond Clusters
This Christmas my mother and I made nuts together (we also are a little nuts but that’s another story:) Since Valentine’s Day is on the horizon and you may also want something fun to do with a friend/partner on a cold cozy weekend day (maybe snowy we shall see) I will share with the cliff notes version of the recipe.
Here is a quick pic of what you need.
A double boiler or sauce pan and bowl, dark chocolate, raw almonds, and cocoa powder to dust.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roast the almonds on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper for 9-12 minutes.
Meanwhile boil water in your sauce pan. Place the chocolate in a bowl (or double boiler) and when water is boiled, place the bowl on top to melt. I added a bit of cinnamon.
Add roasted almonds to melted chocolate and stir. Now for the funny part…..the lady whose recipe we followed suggested using a fork and taking one almond out at a time and placing it on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper to then freeze.
We looked at each other and cracked up! That would take forever!!!
So we used a fork and made almond clusters. Perfect and not hard at all.
You freeze the cookie sheet until the chocolate is solid and then take out to dust with cocoa powder and voila! You can play around with the recipe adding orange peel, sea salt, cayenne or whatever you fancy.
They are honestly to die for and I am about to give away the ones on that dish because I simply need to stop eating them:)
Have fun, enjoy and until next time,
Cheers!