Connection in 2021

Some years I choose a word or phrase for the year. More often I don’t or I forget all about the word I chose by February. After the surprises of 2020, it seemed fitting to choose a word for the coming year. As I thought about what I want to focus on in 2021, connection kept coming to me.

Connection to others - family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors - whether that’s still virtual or, hopefully, more in-person as the year progresses. Connection to myself through movement, meditation, intuitive eating. Connection to nature through more walks and hikes this year. Connection to my community through relationships with my neighbors, my local church, and local shopping and restaurants.

While there has still been connection in various ways in 2020, it looked a lot different than any of us expected. I’m hoping to be more intentional in the ways I connect this coming year. And while it may be idealistic, I’m also hopeful we’ll be returning to more in-person ways to connect again.

Intentionally connecting with others is often a challenge for me. It’s easy for me to stay in my head with idealistic plans and ideas rather than simply inviting someone over. This extended time of not being able to connect with others in person has highlighted many missed opportunities for me over the past years. I want to look for ways to connect now in the midst of our primarily virtual world while also identifying how I can connect in person with others again when it’s safe to do so.

Connecting with both myself and nature allows me to feel ready to reach out to others. Those practices provide the self-care I need to get out of my head more and feel connected as a whole person. Immersing myself in nature, especially the forest, renews and enlivens me. And yet it’s so easy to neglect those practices or feel like it takes too much effort to go further than my neighborhood.

I’m hopeful that 2021 will look a lot different than 2020, both in what’s taking place in our world and for myself individually. I’m curious to see what else I learn and notice about connection throughout the coming year.

Do you have a word or phrase for 2021? I’d love for you to share it with me in the comments below.