The Year of Intention

Every year, there's usually one word that resonates with me; essentially becoming the word I remind myself daily when I face rough patches and even joyous ones in all aspects of life. It usually comes up some time near the end of the year or within the first few weeks of the new one. 2016 was a very interesting year to say the least. Let's just say that my 2016 word REDISCOVER was a pretty accurate description of what the year was like for me. And in the last few months of 2016, I constantly found myself asking the questions of "what's next?," "what's my purpose?," "who am I supposed to become?," "why am I doing this?," "where am I supposed to be at this point in my life?," "how am I going to do this?."  Amidst all the questioning, reflecting, and conversations, the word that always came up was INTENTION. 

In·ten·tion (n)
1. a thing intended; an aim or plan; purpose
2. a determination to act in a certain way
3. a process or manner of healing of incised wounds (medicine).

Intention is a very powerful thing. I absolutely love setting goals, constantly intrigued on learning about a variety of things, and wanting to accomplish a lot off my list that there are moments where I find myself needing to a step back, breathe in deeply, and take one step at a time. I guess it's because I'm so used to multi-tasking and taking on so many different projects in fear of completely missing out on opportunity that it was really a challenge for me to take those few minutes to just be present. I remember hearing many people say: "Set your intention for the day and the rest will follow." It wasn't until I actually started to do so every morning that I felt small changes happening in my life and then rippling towards the people around me.

Although setting and having a good intention in everything that I do is great, I always have to remind myself that ACTION is just as important too. It's like in the Book of James 2:14-17 (NLT) when it comes to the importance of both faith and action - 

"What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don't show it with your actions? Can that type of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, "Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well" - but then don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.”

So on that note, 2017 for me is The Year Of Intention. Not just thinking of my daily intention but also putting it into action within all aspects of my life. With that said, one of my biggest hopes and intentions for this year is to create a space that brings into attention issues related to the things I'm passionate about like eco-sustainability, nutrition and health; to support local and national businesses and organizations with an amazing mission and values; and ultimately to just create a space where people can feel empowered to make a difference in their own lives and in their communities.

What's your word for this year?

Until next time,