My word of the year for 2021 was play and for the most part it was a good word in that it invited me to hold things loosely and to choose play over work sometimes.
Let me share what play looked like for me in 2021:
- I redid a photography course from 2012, Superhero Photo, and loved it. I also brought my big camera with me on holidays and intentionally played with it a lot. I also found some old cameras which I also used – sometimes it’s freeing to only have to focus on composition and how pleasing framing is to the eye, and nothing else.
- I went on intentional photo drives during autumn and winter, my favourite seasons.
- I read 152 books, 43 of them audio, which is a particularly playful way of reading for me as I so enjoy a well-narrated book. The question, “what sounds like play?” became very important.
- On that note, I did Gretchen’s #read21in2021 and cleared 32 books from my non-fiction bookshelf. I’m going to write some more on this because I learned so many useful things about my project style.
- We went on four holidays – Drakensberg, Clarens (twice) and Ballito.
- I brought back 1:1 dates with the kids.
- I watched the most TV I’ve ever watched in my entire life – Nine Perfect Strangers, Kim’s Convenience, Marriage Contract, Lula Rich, Mare of Eastown, and Grace and Frankie for the second time, amongst others.
- I went to Zumba at three different gyms, chasing the most fun classes.
- I did Susannah Conway’s three photo challenges – April Love, August Break and December Reflections, and Laura Tremaine’s May photo challenge too.
- I went to the ballet with two friends – one of the highlights of my year.
All in all, a good year of play.
I have chosen a new word for this year and I will tell you all about it next week 😉
How was your 2021 word? Do you feel like you lived it out enough? How can I help you more?
(I am planning to write at least one more blog post, maybe two, on how to make your word real to you in a practical way).
