Word of the Year 2023

My rambling thoughts on being 'Authentic'

I enjoy the process of choosing a word of the year. Though, my words are often more like themes. A Theme of the Year I take from the Cortex podcast, with Myke Hurley and CGP Grey. They encourage having a theme of the year that can apply to multiple areas and can be used more like a focused idea that applies to many areas of life in a variety of contexts. And, being a Christian, I also love me a good word study. It’s always been part of my process to take my word and go through the Scriptures and see how that idea or word is used, what word pictures are called up, and all the different moods that word can be used in.

Typically I spend some time praying and meditating on which word is going to be my companion for the year. This past year, my word was Authentic. When this word popped up out of the dust, I struggled. To me, this is such an overused word in today’s culture. Many many people talk about being authentic when they’re not. To the point where this word is almost non-sensical. And this word doesn’t appear in Scripture at all! How could I do my beloved word study with this, this, nonsense word? At first, I tried to change it. I picked a different word and tried to believe that it was really my word of the year. (I can now no longer recall what it was.) But underneath that claim, I knew that Authentic was really it and that I would have to reckon with it.

On Cortex, they encourage asking questions about a theme, and so I decided to try out that process this year. Here is what that looked like for me:

What does Authentic mean?

What does Authenticity mean to me?

What does Authenticity look like in my life?

Can I be more Authentic in my faith?

Can I be more Authentic in my marriage?

Can I be more Authentic in my parenting?

Can I be more Authentic in my art?

Can I be more Authentic in my friendships?

Suddenly, I realized that this was going to be a very different theme for me.

While, usually, my word/theme often has some actionable steps I can take, this one didn’t. But it forced me into some deep self-reflection about Authenticity in myself and my relationships. And despite the nebulous ideas around Authenticity, I was able to draw concrete things out of it.

Recently, I assessed my year in light of my word, and I almost grew discouraged because there wasn’t much to show for it at this time. However, I feel like many of the things I did this year brought some structure to my inner life and my outer relationships that will create more Authenticity going forward. By taking some time to consider Authenticity in these areas, I brought some practices into my life that force me to see myself and others more clearly. Some things like:

-Re-instituting a regular morning prayer and gratitude time.

-Beginning an evening examen time to assess the day honestly.

-Leaning into close friendships that can help keep me accountable and grounded in reality.

-Seeking some counseling for some areas.

See, we’ve had a pretty significant year. My husband was unemployed for about 10 months. We moved our family over 600 miles, leaving behind the only home they had ever known plus a beloved homeschool community with deep friendships that stretched back for years. It could have been very easy for me to ignore the pain and the grief of these circumstances, to stuff and pretend nothing was wrong. But because I was striving for Authenticity, I have been choosing to keep short accounts of feelings and thoughts and trying to share more with my husband and friends and pray more realistically. 

My art in particular has taken on a much more personal and emotional tone than ever before. I am seeing where a lot of my imagery is coming from. In the past it’s often been a suprise what shows up on my canvas. That still happens a bit, but now I can often see the meanings and connections of what I creating.

After realizing these things I felt a bit better about the progress I’ve seen because my word this year.

How about you all? Do you do a word or them of the year?