One Little Word 2022 | Nourish

My One Little Word for 2022 is Nourish. The word Nourish feels particularly special for me as it’s my 10th year of having a word of the year and 10th year of joining Ali Edwards One Little Word online class and community.

By December I will have a decade of words which have helped shape me as a person. Each year my word has brought something into my life, sometimes I’ve shared here what each word has helped me with in the year, others I have held close to my heart and shared in my journal.

My words have been

Grow (2013)
Embrace (2014)
Simplify (2015)
Awaken (2016)
Thrive (2017)
Nurture (2018)
Bloom (2019)
Light (2020)
Flow (2021)

and now this year

Nourish (2022)

Each word has brought (and continues to bring) a different perspective, experiences and personal wisdom gained through holding an intention for the year.

When I started having a word for the year it was a pretty obscure practice, and a very different way set intentions for the year, held close in the online creative community and creative bloggers. Now it’s a mainstream practice for those who want to shape the shift in the calendar a little differently and who don’t feel the benefit or resonance with new years resolutions.

I look back and there aren’t that many parts of my life which have formed a constant like the rhythm of my word. My family, Mr C, my treasured friends, this online space, my love of nature, the seasons and the landscape, taking photos, are those constants which come to mind. My practice of holding a word is part of me, a rhythm to each year and is almost a ritual I hold close to which supports my personal development and growth.

I turn 40 in April, and will go into the milestone birthday with a whole decade of words which have shaped me. Perhaps this is why my word of the year feels particularly poignant and special. I want to find someway this year to celebrate all my words, the past 9 years of words have nourished me in many different ways, they’ve helped create a new perspective, they’ve shown me different ways of approaching things and have been a guiding light I return to in the year to check in on my intentions.

Why Nourish?

Nourish landed for me during December, I realised I wanted to continue a new feeling of nourishment which had been hinting at me through the month of November. In November I started creating again. I was finishing projects which had been sitting in my home, untouched and I was feeling the benefit of leaning back into them. During this time I found I had started to let go of the high expectations I had held in my mind, which had unconsciously held me back finishing off projects. I booked the final week in November off work as holiday reserved for me. I work part-time so my three days holiday allowed me to make space in my week to connect to me and to get creative. The benefits of this week were really impactful, I was able to create, organise myself and complete a few things I had been longing to do.

The time off showed me the benefits of making space to do what deeply nourished me. I realised the impact of the extended period of the pandemic had meant I’d been focused on other people and other things, and not caring for myself as much as I needed. Hints of a need to nourish myself were appearing as I looked back over the year, I’d started to run to have headspace from working at home, having a few moments to myself in the week, to believe in myself and learn to love my post-baby body. I picked up a fiction book over Christmas and devoured it in two days, enjoying the escapism found within the pages. Noticing these moments I realised I wanted to start getting more present to myself again, knowing what tops me up.

My hopes for a year with Nourish

Nourish is a word I hope and want to hold on many levels. This year Nourish will connect me to my passions and my creativity. I know already what happens when I let go of this part of me for too long, it pulls me into an unhappy place, and I’m under nourished. I want to nourish my body. The food I consume, the exercise I do, and the spaces I experience. I want to nourish myself and be more conscious about how I spend my time, there’s a place for a Netflix binge, but not something I want to keep filling my weeks with. I want to keep cultivating a life blend which feels fulfilling and wholesome.

Like the picture above of a beach we visited last September in Devon, the combination of being outside, the weather, the landscape surrounding me, and being with my family, nourishes me deeply and are moments I want to cherish and have more of this year.

There’s something about Nourish which also feels like a poignant piece of my own legacy and life. I want to celebrate all other 9 words, and bring together the wisdom I created for myself, using Nourish to anchor these learnings, and to discover what else this word will bring into my year. I hold hope that the word Nourish will come into its own, bring learnings, reflections and help me in some way during this year, and for the years to come.

Do you connect to a word of the year? You can start any time during the year. Perhaps you may choose to hold a word for each season instead? What benefits could holding a word bring for you during the year?