It’s official, we are now half way through another year. How many times have you harbored the thought that time is speeding up. I recently heard David Suzuki say that “life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer you are to the end the faster it goes”. I chuckled and acknowledged that the passing of my days seems to be a blur even though I practice mindfulness, journal, and engage other strategies. I find it remarkable every night my head hits the pillow that another day has been lived and often wonder what has been learned.
This year, 2026, has been filled and fueled by a number of surprises. Given the number of years I have lived on Mother Earth, I find it interesting that I can still be surprised. I am assuming this is a good thing.
Word of the Year
For the past many years I have chosen a word for the year, something that chooses me, comes to me in a dream, rather than being deliberate and logical. This year the word is BLOSSOM. Seems like an odd one, I admit, until I was reminded of a poem written by author Dawna Markova, which has always resonated with me.
I will not die an unlived life
I will not live in fear
of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days,
to allow my living to open me,
to make me less afraid,
more accessible,
to loosen my heart
until it becomes a wing,
a torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance;
to live so that which came to me as seed
goes to the next as blossom
and that which came to me as blossom,
goes on as fruit.
Those last four lines, “to live so that which came to me as seed goes to the next as blossom and that which came to me as blossom, goes on as fruit”, sounds like a cry to reawaken to the potential of life. As I reflected, yet again, on Dawna’s words and consider my word choice for the year, I immediately realized that some things were about to change. I had no pre-conceived idea as to what they might be; it was simply a feeling in my bones.
Art & Zen
Our winter in Portugal this year was marred by a series of tropical storms which left the countryside damaged by high winds and heavy rains. Five weeks of cloudy wet days also left us living differently than we usually do, spending many hours inside. I get bored easily! There are only so much social media and Netflix I can endure, so I turned to my art. Scrolling through YouTube one day, I discovered a series of videos regarding ZenTangle, an art form that uses water colour, pen and ink and markers. It is an invitation to play at art. As a life time doodler I was instantly hooked, pulled out the paints and pens I typically travel with and began exploring.
Portugal is also rich with patterns, sidewalk art, decorative tiles, building styles, all of which I began to mindfully notice, photograph, and absorb. As my art play continued, I began to move away from the ZenTangle rules (always meant to be broken), to incorporate patterns and sacred geometry within my creations. Not only was I entertained for hours, I felt myself blooming, planting new seeds through a completely different expression of art. Since arriving home, I have renamed my work Art & Zen and continue to explore and grow. And there it was…Blossom!
Bucket List
We have a community of friends in Tavira, our Portugal winter home. Over dinner one evening with friends Carol and Norm, they mentioned that they were considering a cruise in the fall from Vancouver to Auckland, NZ. Jim and I are historically not cruisers, always preferring to craft our own travel adventures. NZ has however, been on our Bucket List for many years. We continued our conversations over the next few days, learning more about the cruise, considering the possibility, feeling that poke in the ribs that says, just do it! Shortly after returning home, we spoke with our friends’ travel agent, and booked our trip. On Sept. 19th we head to Vancouver, on the 20th we set sail for Hawaii, nine days later we continue from Honolulu to Auckland, with stops in Fiji and French Polynesia, arriving in NZ mid-October. We also have plan to spend a month in NZ exploring.
Pinch me. There was no indication at the beginning of the year that we would embark on such an adventure. I remain surprised. I look forward to the trip of a life time and sharing it with friends. Again…Blossom?
Back to Bucket List for a moment. If you have not watched the movie The Bucket List with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, you have missed a funny, poignant story of two older men missing out on life, then deciding to change that story. The Bucket List is described as “a number of experiences or achievements that a person hopes to have or accomplish during their lifetime”. A Bucket List is a simple reminder that we all have dreams, whether that is related to travel, specific accomplishments, adventures, relationships and more. They may be simple or they may be grand. If you don’t already have one, it may be time to consider creating one and experience the satisfaction you derive when you tick off the items.
Blossom – An Intention
The year is only halfway through. I am left wondering where life’s adventures will lead next. In setting this word for the year, Blossom became an intention. Like all intentions, once set the invitation is to pay Attention. Be watchful for the SIGNS, those Significant Important Gold Nuggets that inform your Spirit, that support your intention. Final step, No Tension, meaning that responses to your original intention may show up in a form you had not expected, like a new expression of art or an unexpected adventure. Be open to what shows up, be curious, explore. That is when the real magic happens.
Final Word
Your life is unfolding, often more quickly than you had imagined. Regardless of your age, I encourage you to savour life, the moments of magic. Create a Bucket List and begin to live it.
Life is what you make it.
Until Next Time,
Betty Healey
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