How My Word of The Year Appeared | #WOTY 2023

Sometime during the end of 2022, when I hadn’t even thought about my word of the year for 2023, I was aware that I was on the path to healing and transformation —which entailed questioning some of the most basic assumptions I had on life, relationships, connections and so on. Naturally, there was a very essential component in that process—which included unlearning from the past. This was a relatively recent realisation and I knew, instinctively, how the small changes that I had been working on, were emerging to be the catalysts towards this one thing.

Throughout the month of January, while I came across some of the most wonderful and thought-provoking posts on the word of the year (WOTY) from many of my friends in the blogging community, I felt I ought to share mine too.

It’s funny though, that while I knew what philosophy I had chosen to live by, I hadn’t really coined a term to express it. There were big and small things that I wanted to follow, changes that I had been looking to implement and I could see the many elements that I intended, to apply into my everyday living. And, yet, the word eluded me, I waited for it to appear. It didn’t.

And then, as if by chance, one night, as I sat in meditation just before going to bed, I finally found how everything seemed to fall in place and the word that appeared before me was this:

For some time, this is what my soul has been seeking in almost everything that I’ve been engaged in. Meditation has been a daily ritual for me since the past few years, and it has made me aware of everything that has a bearing on my thoughts, intentions, purposes, values and goals. This has probably been instrumental in leading me up to the point where I’m able to consider conscious living as a way of life.

You may ask—did I not live consciously earlier? Of course, I did. The truth is, I was not consistent. It didn’t work for me always. It was not done with intent and not always followed up by appropriate action.

As I write about my intention behind this thought of living consciously, I remind myself that it is going to be the philosophy behind every decision that I choose to take or not take. To me, it’s more like a journey, that will guide me forward.

Will I succeed every single time? Truth be told—maybe not.

But, will that deter me? No.

January brought me plenty to reflect upon—especially with regard to things that I really need to include in my life right now and things I could do without. Barely a week is left for February to pass as well. I’ve been waiting for this moment for more than a month now. The journal has been the repository of many a pondering and has been instrumental in leading me up the choice—the choice to live consciously.

Living a conscious life means that I do exactly what I want, and be able to experience my truth in that moment—especially, what that really means to me. This is going to be an operational challenge in many ways, if you know what I mean, because whenever we deal with other people, be it personally and professionally, standing one’s ground and going with one’s beliefs might not be easy. I’m eager to see where this leads.

And whilst I do that, I’m also reminding myself to trust in the process of life. To embrace the moment, with total awareness—even when life does not go as planned and we realise that everything in this world is in a state of flux. Nothing is constant. Nothing stays. Impermanence rules!

Living with intention sparks curiosity and learning, leading to growth. As a lifelong learner, I’ve always been keen to know more, to explore the unknown and experiment with new things and see where that takes me.

There’s nothing to prove to oneself or to the world—I must live the best and the most authentic version of myself! This means there will be plenty of inner conflict and suffering going on whilst I show up, with courage and honesty to be myself, just as I am.

I hope my conscious life leads me to greater awareness of my capabilities. potentials and limitations—all of which I intend to follow in the coming days. But, I’m also positive that conscious living will also bring me to question the multitudes of things that I continued to accept so far, even when they never made any sense.

Sometimes, we need to clean the lens through which we see our lives. To get a grip on all those things that truly matter. Like who we are, and what we stand for, our purpose, relationships and connections and everything in between.

How far I succeed in this—well, time alone will tell.

The journey of a thousand miles has only just begun.

12 thoughts

  1. I felt happy after reading your thoughts in this post, Esha. I am sending you love and peaceful thoughts for your journey of conscious living. Just a bit from my side – You are not going to create or leave any room for anything to go wrong. Absolutely no such thought creation. Every effort of yours is going to work as per your intention, in your favour and for your betterment. Is ke alawa universe ke pass koi aur option nahin chodna hai.

    1. Thank you so much, Anamika. Your wishes mean a lot to me. I love what you said about not leaving any room for anything contrary or otherwise. The thought also matters a lot and I need to constantly keep reminding myself of that.
      Manifest karna hai, Jo kuch bhi soch Rahi hun!! I’m so glad you shared this wonderful reminder today.
      ❤️❤️

  2. Beautiful, Esha. Often I feel our words or philosophies are around us, maybe we even unknowingly follow it, before revealing it to the world. Your WOTY is absolutely in sync with who you are and how you were living your life the past year. All the best, Esha. <3.

    1. Thank you so much, dear! I couldn’t agree more on what you said about our philosophies guiding us. It’s so true, isn’t it? That’s what comes from within and becomes the word we share with the world.
      So glad to see you stop by the blog today. ❤️

  3. I am glad you discovered your word, and knowing you, I am sure you will live by it, changing your life the way you wish to live it. More power to you, my dear friend! You inspire me with every word you have written here. <3

    1. Thanks so much Shilpa!
      Already started living this way – no wonder the challenges that are coming my way.
      Your kind words mean so so much to me…so glad to see you stopping by the blog today. It’s a post I wasn’t sure of publishing because it was too long. 😁

        1. Thank you thank you! 🙏🏻😊
          Ghalib says – “dil ko khush rakhne ko Ghalib yeh khayal Achha hai!! “ 😄

Would you like to leave your comments below? :)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.