Fully Engaged - Southeast Wyoming Photographer and Blogger

I love New Year’s Day.  There’s something cathartic about closing out one year and starting a new one.  It’s much the same anticipation I feel when I open a new book, a new planner or start a new writing notebook.  What magic can I create?  What will inspire me?  What cool things await?

Professionally, 2019 was amazing.  I met new clients, took on some really cool assignments and learned a bucketful as a photographer and business owner.  It wasn’t perfect, by any means, however.  I suffered some growing pains along the way.  I over-committed, let some things fall through the cracks and flat dropped the ball once or twice.  But I’ve learned from those mistakes and I’m better for that growth and experience.

Personally, 2019 was a maelstrom.  My husband’s second-in-command (and only permanent employee) was out of commission for more than three months.  Outdoor Guy ran the bird farm by himself through two blizzards, egg-laying season and part of the hatch.  He had help from time-to-time thanks to our WGFD friends and neighbors.  But still, the responsibility for this place fell entirely on his shoulders, and it’s not a burden he carries lightly.

I watched him leave the house at 6:30 in the morning and work until past ten or even some nights.  He would come home, grab some dinner, tuck our kiddo in bed and head back out to finish up the work that needed to be done.  I felt him roll out of bed every two hours when the snow came to make sure the pens weren’t going to collapse under the weight of it.  And I watched him disappear into a cloud of swirling wind and snow and prayed he couldn’t get disoriented or hurt in the harshest weather I’ve ever seen.  The fall wasn’t much better.  He stocked birds clear to Christmas, the phone ringing off the hook with hunters that still weren’t satisfied with the hunting opportunity.

It was hard to watch because there was little I could do to help.  Sure, I pitched in where I could.  I helped pick up and wash eggs.  I tried to ride herd on the household and not place any extra demands on his tired soul.

But we survived.  It was ugly and it was hard.  And it was not without tears (me, not him), or whiskey in a glass (him, not me). So bidding 2019 farewell was definitely a good feeling.

Now, the new year stretches out before me, bright and beckoning like a Wyoming highway shimmers on a hot summer day.  What will 2020 mean for me?  For us?

I actually enjoy taking time at the end of each year to reflect and plan.  I normally write a few resolutions.  But this year, I decided to do something different.  I decided to choose a word for the year instead.  The idea is that the word becomes your personal mission statement for the year.  It sets an intention for your life, whether it be personally, professionally or spiritually (or maybe in all those areas!)  It should also help you clarify priorities and motivate you.

So after some thought, I picked my word.

Engage.

There’s a scene in The Incredibles where Helen is mediating a fight between Dash and Violet.  Bob is in the kitchen, his attention on a newspaper article about a missing superhero advocate.

“Bob it’s time for you to engage!” Helen calls to him as she tries to restore order to their house.

To be engaged means to be fully occupied or to have your full attention.  Vocabulary.com gives the example of an engaged reader as one who really focuses on the words and maybe even jots down questions or comments in the margins.  Another definition was “interlocked and interaction,” as in toothed parts or gears.

Engage.

I want to be fully engaged in my life…my business, with my family, with my friends, in my community.  Shouldn’t our goal be to chew gnash our teeth and grind on the meat of life, chewing every last bit of flavor from it so that when we get to the end of our time, we can look back and know we really tasted it?

For my business, I want to fully engage with my clients and customers.  To learn more about their lives and joys and struggles.  I want to use my business to bring joy and light to their lives, help them accomplish their goals and celebrate their wins with them.

Professionally, engaging fully also looks like setting a course for how I want to improve instead of just learning on the fly.  it means dedicating time to practice and perfect new techniques and immerse myself in learning my craft.  It means pushing out of my comfort zone to meet new people and try to techniques.  And it means being vulnerable and risking rejection by pursuing big dreams or trying crazy ideas.

Personally, engaging more with my family means being there, in the moment in body and spirit.  To just sit in those small moments with my husband and daughter and experience life as it is now.  To live it, not just live in it.  It also looks like putting my phone down and picking up markers or scissors or a book and sharing the joy of creating with my daughter.  It means signing up for a leathercraft or watercolor class just because.  It means listening to my husband work through a problem with my ears open and my mouth closed instead of rushing to offer advice.  It means inviting friends over for dinner, or out to lunch or just calling to say hi.  And finally it means making changes to improve my health so I have more energy and stamina to accompany my daughter on her adventures.

For me, to engage means not just to go through the motions, but to participate fully in life.  To push back, talk and disrupt the comfy confines I’ve built for myself.  It’s to be generous with others, to be open and honest with people, and to consider others’ points of view.  To unlearn assumptions about myself, my community and my world.

I’ve never done a word of the year before and I’m honestly not sure how it’s going to go.  But I won’t know if I don’t try.  And there are only positives waiting for me at the end of this notebook if I push myself to work, to pursue, to exceed expectations.

Have you ever tried a word theme?  What word did you use?  How did you use it?  What were your results?  I’d love to hear about it!  (See how engaging I can be? ;0) )

Teresa