word of the year

The Animals Inspired Me with My Word for the Year

Posted by Barbara Techel

I believe this is either the third or fourth year that I’ve picked twelve animal oracle cards for my year – one for each month. In the collage above you can see the animals that represent my year. As I continue to enjoy learning more about what wisdom the animals have for us, this is one way in which I enjoy playing and discovering more. Plus it’s a wonderful way to do inner exploration!

This year I worked with the Spirit Animal Awareness cards by Ona Christie. On each of her cards, she has positive and shadow aspects of each animal.

For the month of January, my card is Bee. After pondering it for a few moments the word that jumped out at me on the card is productivity. I began a project in late 2020 and am gaining momentum with it so productivity feels right for where my energy level and enthusiasm are at for this. It also feels sweet to be in this space of creativity that is filling me with much joy.

I have a spot on my wall next to my writing desk where I will post a photo of the card along with the word (s) that resonates from that particular card for the month. It will be something I can reflect on when I feel called to. At the end of the month, I’ll take a few moments to observe how that particular animal card played out in my life and what I learned.

I’d also been pondering what my word of the year would be for the last few days though nothing was really coming to me.

After pulling an animal card for each month of the year it occurred to me last evening that I should turn to the animals for their help.

This morning as I looked over the complete spread of twelve cards the word that came to me is devotion. My whole body felt it and it made me come alive with inspiration.

So far this is what devotion is representing for me for my year ahead:

  • Devotion to my creativity and more exploration of mixed media collage.
  • Devotion to learning more from the animal kingdom world.
  • Devotion to appreciating the sweetness of life.
  • Devotion to living by the flow of my own authentic being.
  • Devotion to living life with much more zest.
  • Devotion to listening to my inner guidance.
  • Devotion to affirming life through doing things that make me happy.

I’m also reflecting on a quote by John Cage that I shared during the weekly oracle reading I did and posted on Monday. The quote is below and in bold are the sentences that stood out to me. They add to the reason why the word devotion fits for me this year.

Our intention is to affirm this life, not bring order out of chaos nor to suggest improvements in creation, but simply to wake to the very life we’re living, which is so excellent once one gets one’s mind and desires out of its way and lets it act of its own accord.  ~John Cage

Next, I’ll print out a copy of the above collage I made in Canva and post that on my wall next to my writing desk as a sweet reminder of my intention for this year of 2021.

Just doing this simple exercise of pulling animal cards, pondering each month, and then discovering my word for the year opens up this path before me that I’m looking forward to sauntering down and what it is I’ll discover.

Do you have a word for the year? If so, let me know. I’d love to hear!

xo,

Barbara

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On Grace Becoming – My Words for 2019 and My Vision for How I See It

Posted by Barbara Techel

On Grace Becoming - My Words for 2019

Like last year, I couldn’t pick just one word for the year and chose abundant depth. Part of my intention with abundant depth was that I wanted to have deeper conversations with others. Whenever I have the opportunity to have deep and meaningful discussions with friends and family, and also experience with my clients and my oracle reading and guidance sessions, I feel so uplifted!

What I realized this past year was that in order to continue to have meaningful conversations, I had to first begin with having those conversations with myself. Now, not like talking out loud to myself, but I do that too. ha! But about really focusing inward and tapping into what really matters, which I did quite a bit of in 2018.

As 2018 drew to a close and the thought of what I’d like to invite into 2019, I was given some poignant signs recently. From receiving a book as a gift earlier this fall (which I’d read years ago) called, A Return to Grace by Cheryl Richardson, to receiving another book as a gift I’d not read before called, The Way to Grace by Miranda Macphearson, to being nudged awake at 2am one morning two weeks ago by that magical, unseen force that supports us, and hearing the words, Grace Becoming.

When I heard those words I knew this was it as I felt a rush of excitement run through my whole being. It was as if I sank into a warm, swirling pool of water. I just felt it. 

Grace Becoming for me is about trusting there is a divine purpose in guiding me to evolve with a deeper understanding of myself when I experience difficult times, while appreciating that this is part of living a full and meaningful life. Every day I have the opportunity to flow like I imagine grace does.

So then I thought, what would Grace Becoming look like in terms of an image? What oracle card would represent it? What animal oracle card would it be? What number is Grace Becoming? And what color?

This is how I came up with what I guess you could say is a type of vision board. I’ve never really cared all that much for vision boards, or rather those that are done with the intention of material things. Not that I don’t like material things cause I do! But what I created digitally using Canva and this collage is more about how I want to feel, how I want to move through my days, and how I want to be in the world.

Grace is not reacting, but rather allowing a natural flow and why I chose water as how I see it and also in the image of the woman depicting all the many facets of who we are. The bluish green color of water which is calming and how I imagine the color of Grace Becoming. The number 8 I feel represents Grace Becoming beautifully in its fluid and continually movement.

The horse, such a large animal, but moves with such ease and grace, feels like Grace Becoming to me also. And when we adopt more grace into our lives, freedom for how we want our lives to be seems to come more naturally. It’s those challenging times that when we embrace them as opportunities that we become poised (represented by a card from The Wisdom of the Oracle deck) for the life we envision by being more often here and now in this moment, soaking up all that it has to offer, and that by default is a stepping stone, that leads with grace to yet another and another, and to a life well lived.

XO,

Barb