Word(s) for 2022

Last year, my word was "savor." I felt it was a great reminder to be in the moment and linger with life, not rush through to the next task or undertaking.  While the days since that particular post seem to have flown by, I feel that I did a pretty good job of living in the now, most of the time.

  

Last night, as I hit the Word of the Year generator, I was not happy with my "inspirational" word - toast, so for the first time, I hit the generator again. The second time, I got "hope." More like it, I thought.  But then, as often happens when I need to pause and think about things, I was led to check the etymology of "toast," which I was thinking of in the noun form, not the verb form.

The etymology states, "toast - a call to drink to someone's health," 1690s (but said by Steele, 1709, to date to the reign of Charles II)." With the pandemic still raging, what better thing to do than to wish someone good health?

Therefore, for 2022, I will have two words - toast, the verb and hope. I will hope that family and friends will stay healthy and that the world will get a grip on COVID.

As musician, singer, songwriter Vivian Greene says, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” Surely, this is hope at its best and while dancing in the rain, I will "toast" the health of all around me. What a beautiful way to begin the New Year.