Looking For The Light
On returning to a past word of the year.
A couple weeks ago I sat at my dining table and started the process of welcoming a word of the year into my mind and heart. I started this annual tradition for myself as an alternative to resolutions back in the early 2000’s and it’s become one of the core ways I both navigate and document the story of my life.
For 2026 my word is light.
Some of you may remember that I had “light” as my One Little Word® back in 2011. That was the first year I offered a One Little Word® workshop and about year five or six of picking a word. It was the year my marriage dissolved. Simon was 9 and Anna was 2. It was also right at the start of something new called Instagram1 and the beginning of some very big changes in my life.
It feels like a lifetime ago and yesterday.
As I flipped back through the album and read what I wrote and saw what I photographed back in 2011, I kept thinking about was how it’s all simply evidence. Evidence I was here. Evidence of what I saw through my own lens. Evidence of making it through. Evidence of who I was + where I was + what was important in that moment of my own personal timeline. Some things are the same + some things are radically different. I can see the things I’ve been working on for years2 + I can see the areas in which I’ve grown so, so much.
Light was simply the lens I used to navigate that particular chapter and tell my story.
So why return to a word when there are millions of unique words available?
Because I am still me and I’m a different version of me. I’ve lived and loved and lost and hid and showed up and screwed up and found successes and have been learning, learning, learning as I go. Returning to a word means I am giving myself the gift of seeing my word, and myself as I am in this particular season, in a different light.3
And this chapter could sure use some light.
Something I wrote to myself back in 2011: “What I’m really doing right now is working on being okay with not knowing what’s next.”
I’m still working on that and I’m happy to have light as my partner this year as I “see what shimmers within the storm.”
Last year my word was curious and I love that I’m bringing that along with me as I discover what it‘s like to revisit a word. Here are a few things I’m focusing on being curious about this year as I journey with the word light:
Living with lightness: creatively, physically, emotionally
Being a light for others + for myself
Seeing, acknowledging, and celebrating light in others
Learning new ways for navigating a season when things feel much heavier
Looking for the light, looking for the light, looking for the light
I know as the year goes on I will ebb and flow through those various themes and I welcome that part of the adventure.
At the beginning of the year I started a new Pinterest board just for quotes related to my journey with light in 2026. I love spending a little bit of time over there searching for quotes that include “light” and/or other sentiments/words that resonate with me right now.
Reading the words of others often helps me narrow down concepts and ideas I’d like to focus on (such as the role of light in nature) and I especially welcome the new connections between words that sometimes happen as I read the quotes. Words spark words.
Here’s my Pinterest board for light quotes.
Here’s my Pinterest board of quotes that I’ve been adding to for years.
The light in me honors the light in you.
If you are curious about the practice of living with a word of the year and would like to be a part of a community of people who come together each month throughout the year for a creative prompt and a monthly conversation via zoom, check out our One Little Word® workshop. It’s not too late - you are right on time.
I’ve been finding it really interesting as I look back at my stories to track what technology things were happening around the same time - it’s the kind of perspective and rounding out of a story that gives them more depth.
we all have “those” things
no pun intended
I’m going through a really tough time at work at the moment, along with all of my teammates. This quote really stands out for me because it makes me realize that WE are what shimmers beneath the chaos. I’m going to send this to my team this morning - thanks so much for sharing it ❤️
Another trip around the sun with OLW. I often struggle with the quote portion of things, as I tend to pick words that either don’t have much in the way of quotes, or quotes that are too corporate self help. This year’s word is reach, and I really desire to find something fresh that isn’t just ‘reach for the stars’, but so far, Pinterest hasn’t provided lol. Light has some lovely quotes!