Choosing Who to Be

Over the course of our lives, we live through multiple opportunities to choose who we want to be. We also have the option to remain stable ~ stagnant, some may say ~ and not alter our way of being in the world.

I've been fortunate to have gone through several of these times, these incredible opportunities. Some of them have been painful. Some have been exciting. Others have arrived because it was time. All of them have stretched me.

When I went away to college, I chose to attend a university several hours away from home. More than that, I'd only looked into that particular university because my best friend wanted to go there.... and never did. The irony of that choice has never left me. That change ~ from high school student, living in my parents house, roaming around a major city where I grew up to a college student in a small college town ~ was bittersweet. I was growing up, as I knew I needed to, and leaving others behind.

Getting married presented me with yet another opportunity for changing who I was in the world. I followed that age-old path only to find, a few short years later, that it was not the path for me. That change was painful ~ yet, like the girl choosing to be a witch ~ I knew things. I learned much about myself and about life. I had the remarkable opening to recreate myself ~ and so I did. Stronger, more secure, more confident. Yet still trusting and innocent. My choice could have been different ~ I could have remained hurt, living in fear of encountering pain again, living small and knowing less.

Life allows the availability, the presence to make these choices on an irregular basis. Whether or not we choose, who we are reveals itself to everyone we encounter.... even if we believe otherwise. Personally, I like being a witch.....!

What has life put in your path? How did you choose? Why? Are you aware of any changes coming in the near future? Do you use any particular process to make your choice? Are you happy with being "a witch"?

Be Fierce

I have a friend who has chosen a focus word of the year for the past decade. She challenged others to join her in the practice ~ and many have. I have repeatedly chosen not to do so. My reason? Words call to me all the time. They show up in my everyday life like dust-bunnies under the bed. Sometimes they gather together and bring a larger message; sometimes they puff out when the wind blows the right way.

Today, these words showed up: Stronger, Braver, Kinder, Unstoppable.... and their cousin: BE FIERCE.

How do I choose from among those incredible words? Personally, I don't. I let them all flow through the energies around me, let them settle in the corners of my mind. They throb through my veins into my heart. They find their own rhythm to speak to me ~ and I find the space and silence to listen.

This is the year I will be fierce. Yes. I feel it. The online dictionary defines fierce as "showing a heartfelt and powerful intensity." That's certainly what I've been feeling as this new year has begun ~ a powerful intensity leading me toward.... I'm not quite sure what.

That intensity, that fierceness, has shown up in my recent dreams ~ battles without anger or bloodshed, only abundant intensity, like a many-partnered dance with weapons. Or lots of people looking for a particular path and tumbling over each other to reach it. More circus-type tumbling. No harm done nor intended. Yet overflowing with intensity. I continue to watch how fierceness will play out in my life ~ and for how long.

What word or a group of words calls to you as this new year begins? Will it form a focus for your year? or for a particular length of time? Where is that word leading you? Are you willing to follow?