This past year has been a really reflective and transformative time for many of us. With this time of quiet and being at home comes the space to work on ourselves internally even if we didn’t necessarily want to. It’s kind of forced us to be still, to be quiet, and to adapt to a time that is unknown to us, or at least that is how it’s been for me. With so many mindfulness podcasts, meditations, and other apps coming onto the scene it can actually be more ‘noise’ to try to navigate through. I had this idea to try to make a meditation practice that doesn’t complicate it and make it a daily bite-sized practice. So in this blog post, I share more about the One Word a Day bite-sized mindfulness technique which has really been helping me.
One Word a Day
My husband and I were on one of our daily walks and this random idea popped into my head. How about we choose a word each day to reflect on, discuss and use to have a focus. At first, the idea was purely to help me with a bad day I was having but little did I realize it would actually end up being more than that. We are a few days in now and I knew I just had to share this with you on here because I think it could be really helpful.
The best way to explain how it works is to share our words of the day and what we actually did with those words. These words aren’t necessarily suggestions for your own practice, but more to share how they worked for us. You can choose your daily words based on how you feel that day, or things that organically comes up.
Day 1 – Patience
On day 1 when I came up with this idea, I was in a headspace that was pretty negative. We are in the process of trying to conceive which without going into it too much, has been a really emotional time for me. Not only is it taking a long time but there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel so far. We are waiting for a specialist because Covid has delayed this and everything feels like a blocker in the way. I have good and bad days emotionally and navigating through this time can feel isolating and strange – especially as no one talks about it. The word ‘Patience’ came to me from an Oracle Card I read that morning, from the messages from Mermaid deck. This word seemed so fitting and needed at this moment that it spurred on the conversation of ‘Word of The Day’.
Whilst on our daily walk I asked Chris what the word Patience meant for him and we spent some time reflecting and discussing this together. My interpretation is patience comes from gratitude and practicing that can really help stay patient. Patience can also be about staying present and finding happiness in the now, which is something we can all control. For Chris patience means not jumping to conclusions or getting in your head with things. A good reminder of thoughts are not facts.
Day 2 – Moderation
For day 2 Chris chose the word and I was pleasantly surprised by his choice of ‘moderation’. This can mean many things but for us, we broke it down again in a mindful conversation. For Chris, this meant enjoying pleasures and indulgences in moderation so that when you have them they mean more and feel more like a treat. For me, I felt moderation was also another word for finding balance in life. This can be with diet, emotions, work, and rest. Life can be a balancing act of all things and moderation is a great way of seeing this.
Day 3 – Architect
Today is day 3 and I chose today’s word after a bit of morning meditation, something that came up was ‘growth’. I didn’t want to go with the word growth because a lot of what I am feeling is bigger than that. I love the word architect because to me it symbolizes the ability to plan your own life, to build and grow from pain. Chris said his interpretation was to build a good foundation and to focus on the root of our goals and dreams and not rush things. ‘Be the architect, not the tenant’, focus on solutions to long-term goals rather than short-term fixes.
Practicing Mindfulness With One Word a Day
I hope by sharing the words we have chosen so far gives a good idea of how this could work for self-reflection and daily mindfulness. We don’t always have time for half-hour meditations but we can fit this practice into our busy lives whether it’s on a daily walk or over dinner. It’s helped me to have something to focus on each day that doesn’t feel too big or overwhelming. Give this a try and see if you find some amazing things come up or times of reflection that can often feel heavy or difficult. Breaking it down into one word can give each day perspective and an easy way to stay mindful.
xxx