Two years ago, I would have found it so easy to start the New Year with high ambitions and exciting, exhilarating beliefs that I will accomplish much more than any human can accomplish in a lifetime… then obviously that would end sometime before February hit. I would then start moving along like a sloth, with no direction and no place in particular to stop and reflect on my life.
Last year, as many of you know, I started doing the Powersheets from the Cultivate What Matters team. It truly changed my way of living.
In current day, I am exposed to all types of different lifestyles and ways of living- thanks to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Blog Posts, Snapchat, etc.. Now, those things are great and beautiful and marvelous. They are wonderful for keeping in touch and sharing our lives. The issue with all of these things is that they aren’t me.
Nothing else shares the intimacy that I have with my husband, the struggles I have come to face and work through and live with, the wonderful and joyous aspects of my life and the confidence and perseverance I have as a woman, mama and wife. Nothing else is specific to me except me and my life.
I have come to find a greater purpose for living than I ever have before. I have come to find that true intimacy within me is exactly that.
It is within me I have found the darkest of my days. The days where pain overtook me, when heartbreak was overwhelming, when motherhood was humbling, when my life as wife felt like too much… there I found true intimacy in myself.
And still, I found intimacy in the other days- when I conquered the laundry pile, took an amazing photograph that reflected everything I felt and more, when I jumped at the chance to go on an amazing adventure and when I found goodness and graciousness that comes with motherhood and my role as a wife… there I found intimacy in myself.
It is no coincidence that this year my word is
INTIMACY
Last year my word was peace and I felt little to no peace, but now, I feel all of this peace and understanding on what I want my life to reflect.
I think of our most recent trip to our hometown, when we finally stopped at a beautiful orchard we had always noticed.
I thought to myself “how many times have we driven by that beautiful mandarin orchard and never stopped as a family? How many times have I daydreamt about a time when we weren’t moving so quickly through life?”
The dreams I have in my head can become a reality.
The New Year is a way to start afresh; we can find ourselves making new choices for our life.
For me, that looks slower. For me, that looks simpler. For me that looks calmer.
It won’t be a coincidence that you will notice me going slower in life- on the blog, with my family and with the upcoming preparation and arrival of a little baby this summer.
I am so ready for all that entails; understanding what it means to minimize my way of living, live a simpler life, insights on relationship building according to specific aspects of marriage, sharing our encouraging words, moving poems and photography that gives a glimpse into what is in the depth of my soul. I want all of this because I want a deeper sense of intimacy within myself.
May we find intimacy, first in ourselves, then in the greater aspects of our life and then… this world.
© Letticia Vickner and Life and Times of a Happy Wife, 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Letticia Vickner and Life and Times of a Happy Wife with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Letticia Vickner, Creator & Editor
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I have been married to Erik for nearly three years. Seeking a simpler lifestyle and an intimate understanding of myself is something I am always doing.I find myself reading novel after novel and listening to a good podcast or having time to myself to recharge and reboot for what my world asks of me on a daily basis. Being a woman, wife and mama are what inspires me.
I love your word! I keep seeing it everywhere too, as a result this has been on my mind as well! Love that you stopped at the orchard too. Great post!