My three words for 2015 are: Sceptre, Beams, Orchard
This year, I return to words that serve as metaphors. These three words are the windows to new opportunities and the windows that deliver illumination along the path that leads the way.
Sceptre is my window to authority and the power to speak.
Beams give strength, energy and direction.
Orchard is my window to commitment, design, patience and harvest.
Shout-out to Chris Brogan for inspiring me with the “my three words” practice, which I discovered back in 2010 or thereabouts.
[Tweet “Words are the windows that reveal how we see and shape our world. #3words”]
Sceptre
The sceptre is a symbol of authority and power. The person who holds the sceptre has the duty to act and the right to speak.
Sceptre is the word that came out of the blue to me and seemed to be unrelated to the other words on the short list I started working on a few weeks ago. I've never had a problem giving myself permission to take action, but I sometimes am reluctant to take charge or to speak “loudly.” Until I was around age 24, I wasn't reticent to take on leadership roles.
Something changed in my mid-20s, and I became more reserved, less willing to be “out front” in leadership roles, unwilling to tell my story. I didn't even want leadership roles anymore because I began to associate leadership with hubris and selling-out. I saw too many politicians and corporate-types seize power and then use it to destroy and/or pillage.
In the second half of 2014, I came to realize that I'd done a terrible job of telling my own story of successes, challenges, strengths. And that I'd done an even worse job of explaining how I've been helping others. I came to realize that by refusing to accept my strengths or use them in the public service of others, I had been, in effect, rejecting my calling.
The Sceptre serves as a reminder that I have accepted my mission, and that I have the duty, the power and the authority to speak and act in pursuit of the Shine vision that I've been given. The Shinecast (my focus in 2015) is a part of that mission, as is Shine Springs Farm.
Beams
Beams represent energy, strength, illumination and direction.
Energy is revealed through particles and waves that travel in beams.
We perceive light through waves of energy that is reflected off an object.
Navigational guidance comes through electromagnetic signals that are beamed to ships and planes.
Bars of heavy wood or metal serve as beams that support buildings. Without beams, a structure has no real foundation.
A beam also provides the balance to a scale. Think of the scales of justice. The beam is the cross-bar that enables balance.
I am both a recipient and transmitter of beams. I am a beam of light and energy to others.
Orchard
The Orchard represents design, longevity, legacy.
An orchard requires planning, pruning, patience, and it lasts beyond one season. In the old days, when families lived off the land, orchards were investments for the future and a source (and sign) of wealth.
Orchards require attention to produce a meaningful harvest and the patience to allow nature to proceed at nature's pace.
A successful orchard is not, however, reflected in the industrial-style monoculture we see today in the giant orchards of corporate farms.
A flourishing orchard is filled with a diversity of life, provides habitat for an array of creatures, and delivers a bountiful harvest.
As much as I love gardening and growing things, I'm not using Orchard here in a literal sense, though. Orchard is not about a specific outcome. When the word “orchard” first popped in my head, I kept asking: “Why orchard? Why not garden?” The distinction is something I contemplated for hours, both actively and subconsciously.
For me in 2015, Orchard is about commitment, design, focused effort, pruning where necessary, patience and harvest. The Shine Vision is the orchard. The Shinecast Project and Shine Springs Farm are cornerstone species in the orchard.
What Are Your 3 Words for 2015?
So those are my three words for 2015: What are your three words?
Did you write a post about them? Leave a link below in the comments–I'd love to read your post and find out more about YOUR three words.
2015 is YOUR year to Shine.
[Tweet “2015 is my year to Shine.”]
My three words for 2013: Zoom, Vivace, Jazz
Zoom: Vision for a multi-media “empire” and related to my ability to zoom out to see the big-picture and zoom in to focus.
Vivace: An attitude and zest for life, happiness, health, fitness
Jazz: Improvisation within an ensemble. Great jazz is improvisational, but rarely do great jazz artists perform purely as a solo act.
Find out more about Zoom, Vivace & Jazz and the 2013 year in review here.
The original Zoom, Vivace & Jazz explanation via my post on The Ben Franklin Follies.
My three words for 2014: Now, Be, Do
Now: Focus on the now, live in the present moment.
Be: Be authentic, live true to myself, stop striving and simply “be” as my new mission unfolds.
Do: Take action, while letting go of the need to control results (see above).
Image Credits: Photo of the sceptre is from WikiCommons and in the public domain by creator Michal Maňas (Snek01). Other Photos by Sheree Martin.
