What are you dedicating your 2022 to? What is your anchor word? What song is guiding you through the year? What I write below describes what’s grounding my 2022. Hopefully it can help you ground your 2022 too.
Two years ago as I was preparing to celebrate my 38th birthday, I came across a bunch of pictures of young Kia that I hadn’t seen in years. The one thing that resonated with me in all of those photos was that young Kia was happy. The smile on her face was so big. The joy in her eyes was so bright. Her bliss resonated from the inside out. I almost didn’t recognize the girl in that picture as myself because it had been so long since I’d seen her.
When I look at pictures throughout my adulthood instead of pure joy most of them are full of dead eyes and faux smiles. And I want better for that kid who had so much hope and joy in the world. I also want better for my 40-year-old ass. So I’m dedicating this 2022 to that little girl with the infectious smile. Everything I do this year will be about her – enjoying the world through her eyes, protecting her, healing her and giving her all the joy she knew was possible.
There wasn’t one big thing that robbed that baby girl of her infectious smile. It was the death of a thousand cuts that murdered her joy. And this year will be all about building a life that heals cuts instead of letting them fester.
What are you dedicating your 2022 to?
A few years ago, my friends and I stopped making resolutions and started choosing anchor words: words that would guide us and hold us down as we navigated the year and all it would bring. In the past I’ve chosen “create” and “fearless.” This year I’m choosing “be.”
Throughout my life, I’ve spent a lot of time remorseful about mistakes of the past and worrying about what is to come in the future. That’s part of what robs me of my joy, my peace and that smile I so desperately want to get back. So instead of looking backwards or ahead, I’m going to just be in the now – trusting that god, the universe and my ancestors are taking care of me so I can be more intentional about being in relationship with them in the moment.
What’s your anchor word for 2022?
Music is another guiding light in my life, often affirming and informing my next steps in ways I’m not really ready to share. But I regularly pick a song to anchor my day or year. This year’s song is a bit of a throwback, but it’s so important at helping me out of the worrying loop that’s stolen so much of young Kia’s joy in past years.
What’s your anchor song?
Listen, the last two years have been a lot. Don’t pressure yourself into trying to achieve a lot throughout this year. Prioritize caring for yourself, and everything you’re supposed to accomplish, everything that’s supposed to come your way…it will be done.
Amen. Aṣẹ. Inshallah. It is so.
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