My word for 2018 is ‘Cozy.’

It’s not an annual thing for me to pick a word for the year. I’ve done it before, but as I’m sitting here, I don’t remember the last time or what my word was. I do remember one year that my word was ‘Yes!’ and if I recall correctly, I was in my mid-20s and used my word to give myself permission to go out drinking on weeknights.

This year’s word was simmering on the back burner of my mind for months leading up to the end of 2017. Shenzhen is very, very hot. For literally months on end, I couldn’t leave the house without breaking into an immediate sweat, our A/C blasted all hours, and the impending winter across much of the world seemed very, very far away. I was aching for leaves and sweaters and snow.

I wanted to be somewhere like in the photo below, seriously freezing somewhere in England.

Now that spring has officially sprung, it’s worth reflecting on if my word, cozy, will follow me to the next season. Things are heating up here in China, and my robe-wearing days are numbered.

While I may put my robe away soon, and pray that my body has adjusted enough to this climate that each day will not be the sweatfest it once was, many of the other aspects of cozy still resonate strongly.

When we were in the Philippines this month, camping on a tropical beach, there was an aspect of coziness there. Gathering around a campfire was cozy, swinging with my sister on a hammock was cozy. It was cozy to walk on an empty beach, or if not cozy exactly, it was comforting and relaxed.

There are several other words that I’ve identified as how I want to be this year, in support of all things cozy.

One is ease. I really want this year to be filled with ease. For me, that means being not so future-focused (what are we doing for Christmas, anyway??), and not dwelling on my career prospects, lack thereof, or over-analyzing that question at all. Is this year is the year I should make another job change…or is next year a better choice? Ugh, who knows anyway, right?

Here are a few things I’ve been bringing into my life lately in pursuit of all of these words and ways of being:

• I’ve given myself permission to buy books. Shocker, I know.
• I’ve started a more regular meditation practice.
• I’ve decided to see as many movies in the theater next door as I want.
• I only read books that I like. I quit reading a couple this year that I haven’t liked, a new practice for me. Weirdly liberating.
• I decided I really wanted to see old friends in Hong Kong, despite how much I knew the visit would mess with my schedule and sleep. So I gave myself permission to be tired for a day or two and had a great night with them.
• When my Type A personality thought it was a good idea to update my LinkedIn profile and research job prospects, I eased into a small profile update but left the rest. I rest easy knowing that any kind of job or career change will make itself known to me when it’s time.
• I’ve had an intention all year to buy a nice candle and light it in the evenings at home, but for some reason, I still haven’t bought the candle! What’s up with this? Maybe I’ve built this up so much in my mind that I’m putting too much pressure on said candle to be the perfect scent and perfect price?
• I’ve ditched any previous pressure I put on myself to create a five year plan. Five years ago I would never have predicted I’d be writing this from China, so it just goes to show that I have no clue about the future and it’s likely going to be better than anything I could dream up or plan for.
• I deleted my work email from my phone. Turns out, I’m pretty easy to reach in an emergency and there are very few emergencies when it comes to my work.

And that, my friends, is how I’m doing with Cozy this year. I’m finishing writing this at night, and the weather is back to cool and I’m back to a sweatshirt. We’re going to a movie tonight at the theater next door and tomorrow I may go see another.

Because when we’re in cozy mode, we’re in it all the way.