My friend, Laura Lein-Svencner, has decided on NATURAL, a word that, for lots of reasons, resonates with her, has meaning for her, and will be something that’s always in the back of her mind.
So I wondered, should I have a word? A meaningful concept always floating around in my brain, consciously, or sub-?
This past year has been a challenge. I’ve always been apolitical, far removed from the fray. But this year? It’s been hard to ignore, hasn’t it? Never has politics been so repugnant, repellent, repulsive than what we saw in 2016, no matter which side you were on.
Name-calling, misogyny, bigotry, pettiness — all shoved in our faces, every minute of every day.
Where was decency, empathy, kindness, and objectivity?
It all came to a head this past week when a crony of the president-elect said the most despicable and hateful things about the outgoing president and his wife.
It made me cry in despair. And it made the word I’d chosen for 2016 come into sharp focus:
RISE
The word RISE is nothing but positive. An “upward movement.” To ascend. To go up. To do a better job.
Hot air balloons rise upward. “A rising tide floats all boats.” Rise from the ashes. Rise above expectations. Rise to the challenge. Rise to the occasion. Boost. Prosper.
Get up, stand up. The sun also rises. Sunrise. SurpRISE!
So that’s my word for 2017. RISE. Rise above the bigotry, meanness, hate, pettiness, aggression, the ordinary, the stupidity, the average. “We rise by lifting others.”
It’s a short, monosyllabic word — RISE. How hard could it be to put into practice? We shall see. In 2017, we shall see.
Wishing you all the best of everything in 2017.
Carol Leigh
Chris Smith
Abby the Psycho Cat
