Word for 2015: Be
“No one realises how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” – Lin Yutang
In 2014 I began a tradition of choosing a word I would embrace in the new year. I borrowed/stole this tradition from an excellent photographer, online mentor and friend Lola Akinmade-Åkerström. Last year I chose the word open and in reflection I would say always be careful what you wish for! I yearned for new experiences, lots of life lessons and things to occur that would take me out of my comfort zone. In that respect 2014 did deliver, though perhaps not in the way I would have liked! It turns out that sometimes the best life lessons are served on a plate of discomfort, pain and challenge.
I enter 2015 feeling a bit emotionally, and even physically battered. The sun spots on my face and the motorbike burn scar that forms a crescent across my right calf are the visible signs but travel, life, death and loss have made marks deeper than that too. This year I choose my word with care, this year requires kid-gloves. It is a year for renewing and refreshing, a year with time to be spent with those I really love and that love me, a time not to be timid but certainly a time to take stock and gather stones. It is a time to simply be.
To be does not mean to strip aside ambitions or to live a dull life. It does not mean to sit back and forget what it means to dream. What it does mean for me is time to really nurture the relationships that are important to me, to travel with intention and guts but also to take time on those travels for coffees and chat and sunsets and soppy sensibilities.
I carry many lessons forward from 2014; lessons in love, life and travel. The biggest lesson is just to sometimes let it be. Sometimes doors are closed to us and there is no good reason why. Sometimes things do not go the way we planned and that is OK. Sometimes we are left at a loss for words and actions and sometimes we simply have to shut up, relax and be.
“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” – Jack Kerouac
©manifeesto
THE THING WITH FEATHERS 
wise words… all the best to you for 2015 x
and to you! I hope 2015 brings you lots of peace, joy, love and light
Beautiful!
Hi Laura,
This is a lovely post and having read your 5 things I learnt in 2014 post, I can see that you have had quite a year.
I like the feel of your word for the year, of course it will mean different things to different people. I suffer from depression and have been pretty ill over the last three and a half years but 2014 saw a pretty big step forward in my recovery.
The major factor in my recovery has been to find a little time every day just to BE. Its a technique I learned through mindfulness, sometimes its as simple as sitting in the car eyes closed concentrating on being in the moment whilst i wait to pick my son up from school. My favourite though is grabbing a few minutes to myself whilst I am walking my dogs. i just sit and feel the sunshine, the wind, the rain whatever it may be.
My photography has also been a great release, its the knowing that you have seen the shot and captured a moment in time that will never BE again.
All the best for a great year in 2015. BE yourself, BE Well, BE Creative and BE Happy 🙂
Thank you so much for the comment. Really value it. I too have struggled with depression this year as well as anxiety. I have never had a problem with either before but the ‘black dog’ spent most the 12 months at my heels and sometimes still comes sniffing around! I, like you, have started to find peace in the small moments. For me running and just feeling the world around me and my own breathing has really helped.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read and to share.
All the very best for 2015 x
Wonderful!
Happy New Year! I hope you have a healthy, happy and content 2015. x
Beautiful post Laura, thanks for sharing. 2014 certainly taught me some life lessons that I didn’t see coming, so I can appreciate your wisdom. Looking forward to following your 2015 story 🙂
This is wonderful. I get very overwhelmed with all the ways I want to change my attitude and perspective for the new year, but I think just one word is a more centered, all encompassing, healthy, and positive approach. I am now off to do the same–Look back on what I’ve learned from the past year and approach the new one with one word. Thank you!
I owe this strategy to Lola – I love it too as resolutions become easily forgotten but a one-word attitude shift is ‘do-able’ I think. Happy New Year!
Absolutely beautiful! Looking forward to following your journey of renewal in 2015.
Thanks so much Lola x
[…] started 2015 by choosing to embrace the word ‘be’. To be still with God. To reclaim a sense of belonging in my own small world of family and […]
Reblogged this on Endless Love and commented:
que 2015 seja um ano de sabedoria, de aprendizado, superação… Um ano melhor pra todos nós, apesar de muitos altos e baixos, agradeço a Deus por estar onde estou hoje, com saúde, garra, e fé. Tenho certeza que esse ano vai significar muita coisa pra mim. Independencia, 1 de namoro, 22 anos, viagem, tcc, colação, negócios… e claro, perto de pessoas que amo muito, peço saúde e paz, acima de tudo.
This photo is perfect. I long to get to the beach this year – 2015! Great job!
Reblogged this on Mel Loves.
This is a very nive photo. It´s individual and is so unsual even though!
Reblogged this on .
[…] over my blog posts during the year. Only at this stage do I take time to glance back. I re-read Word for 2015: Be and Five things I learnt in 2014 and found myself with tears in my eyes. When I set my goals for […]