For 2017, I am going with Whole as my One Little Word.

This is my fourth year of participating in Ali Edwards One Little Word project with my words over the years being Intention, Open, Brave and now Whole. This is one of my most favorite projects, both in taking part in the monthly prompts but also in the changes that it brings about in my day to day life.

The last few months of 2016, I have been struggling with this feeling like my life is missing something. I know what that "something" is but it isn't within my control to change. As this feeling continued to gnaw at me, some questions began percolating in my heart...

"What does it mean for me to live a whole life? What does a whole life feel like and look like? If this dream that my heart desires never materializes for me, then how do I live a life that feels complete; that feels whole rather than living every day feeling like I am missing something?"

This year I am planning to approach these questions by looking at the pieces of my life that make up the whole.  I want to identify what those pieces are and how they currently work together. I want to consider how each of those pieces are as individual pieces...do I need to release any ideas or expectations about any of them, spend more time focusing on any specific ones, are any pieces missing and what can I do if that is the case?  I also want to figure out where contentment and acceptance fit into this and how can I do those well?

Some of those pieces that have been floating around my thoughts include my whole health (whole foods, weight resistance, cardio, sleep, self care, rest and stress management), experiencing an emotionally whole life (celebrating things big and small, sitting with my emotions even if they are difficult ones, marveling in adventures and new experiences) and impacting my community, both close to home and far away.

My hope is that this word will help me to live both the length and width of my life

I came across a quote by Steve Goodier around the middle of last year, shortly after attending my friends father-in-laws' funeral.  As time went on, the words in this quote captured precisely how I was feeling, what I had rolling around inside of me.

"I want to die living. And I want to be remembered as one who lived with purpose, joy and feeling. I want to spend my time learning what goes into a whole and happy life, then building that life the best I can."