Focusing on the Path to Positivity

With the holidays still a vivid memory and January settling in, it is important to keep our focus on what is important. As the Proverbs 4:25 says, "Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you." 

http://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2015/01/a-positively-positive-start-to-2015.html

Positivity is an open road, 

a lens to view life, 

and a tool to keep our heart 

open for possibilities. 

What better way to bring 

FOCUS 
and 
positivity

into the daily routine 

than 

to wake up each morning 

and 

start the day with the Divine Light.

For as the song says

" 'Cause to start the day without You is impossible to do." 

Today, at Spiritual Journey Thursday, 

we bring our attention to Holly Mueller's One Little Word for 2015: FOCUS

 knowing that this is the way we need to start each day.

FOCUS on the Light as you walk on the Reflective Pathway.

One Little Word Becomes My 2015 Mantra

With the New Year comes a fresh start to approach life in a different way. This new pathway we discover becomes a welcomed avenue for a new year.  

New Year resolutions have always been a familiar return to school activity in the beginning of January. They tend to be markers of what needs to be accomplished but these well wishes often fall by the wayside as the months move on. In the past year, an alternate path to the New Year resolution has sprung up in the form of a one little word (OLW). It appears to be the trendy thought in the Twittershpere so why not try it out?

Bloggers use the one little word as a mantra that lights the way. One writer recently spoke of the OLW as a soundtrack for the year (such a splendid image). I found my one little word for 2015 that compliments my 2014 word (openness). My guiding word, LISTEN, will become my mantra. I invite this word to become a part of my vocabulary as I listen intently to what life has to offer and what I can bring to my relationships.

I heard my word call me as I approached winter. You can read about the evolution of my OLW here and here. While I am not a huge fan of cold weather and snowbound times, I decided to take a fresh look at winter this season. To honor my new perspective, I sent out an invitation to all to listen to winter's whisperings. Hence, the Winter Whisperings Gallery of Artistic Expressions came to be from a desire to bring diverse writers from around the states and the globe to write how winter touches their lives. I listened to my one little word, Listen, to turn winter into a magical season of possibilities, despite the chill, snowstorms, and all the issues that arise from extreme weather conditions. You can view to my invitation to write for the gallery here. 

Last week for Poetry Friday, Mary Lee Hahn, a colleague, created an acrostic poem about her one little word, notice. Margaret Simon, another colleague, thought that would be a unique way of publicizing our words so I decided to try one out for size. I listened to my heart and here is what it said. 

Then, I searched for a song that might capture the essence of the one little word concept. While the song I found is not a contemporary one, I felt it was a nostalgic way of portraying the one little word theme. 

I have been thinking about the power of the one little word as way to bring positivity to light so I decided that my message for professional development sessions this January would revolve around the OLW. Below is one slide that I created for a reflective writing exercise with educators. The same type of activity, the creation of a Graffiti Wall of OLWs, can be implemented with students. One little words evolve from a reflective stance and look at the year to come and how the message of positivity can enter and affect your world. 

Now it is time to stroll over Two Writing Teachers where you can find other writers Slices of Life.

To contribute to Margaret Simon's DigiLit Sunday site, I am dedicating my professional development work on OLW as a start on how I will integrate technology into literacy.

 Here is a compilation of one little words gathered from last weekend's Celebrate this Week bloggers, using Tagxedo.

Celebrating My One Little Word to Kick Off the New Year!

For me, choosing one little word (OLW) as my direction for the new year was a slow process that needed careful consideration and nurturing. Let me give you a sneak peek at how my OLW became my guiding star.

Carol Varsalona's OLW

Now that I chosen the word or did the word choose me, I am proud and want to celebrate! I have moved From Openness (2014 OLW) to Listen on a journey worth exploring. 

Here's to celebrating 2015.

New Year's Eve Dinner Party

And the Countdown Leads to a Wonderful Start to 2015

Each week, Ruth Ayres asks us to recount the celebrations that bring joy to our lives. 

You can read Ruth's celebratory post and the celebrations of other writers here.

Ringing in the New Year with a Look Back and a Look Forward

The New Year brings a promise of possibilities. I pause in the stillness of the early morning to reflect on the myriad of choices I have to start the day. Since it is Friday, I am eager to open the Poetry Friday site and see what offerings are awaiting me. In my quest to challenge my technical skills, enjoy new readings, and write to grow as a learner, I created a museum type showing of the Finding Fall Gallery that has the feel of a New York City gallery. If I accessed the final copy correctly you will be able to enjoy the variety of perspectives on the season of autumn and recollect your fall memories in the process. (Click here to be emazed.)

As promised, I am now ready to send out the invitation to the 5th gallery of artistic expressions. Read below and see if you can determine what the new title of the collection will be. I hope I can encourage many more Poetry Friday community members to offer a poem and accompanying photo. The submission deadline will be the end of February for a March showing. 

Did you guess the title of the new gallery?

-Winter Whisperings-

I included my One Little Word (OLW) for 2015 in the poem-LISTEN!

I will listen to the words in each and every offering to the Gallery of Winter Whisperings and showcase them in an inspiring design. 

Here are the easy steps to engage in reflective writing for this gallery. In doing so, you will assist me in building the collection.

1. Find that special winter site that allows you to listen.
2. Pause, observe, reflect.
3. Capture the image and couple it with a poetic thought or poem.
4. If you want to experiment with photo editing tools, try PicMonkey, Canva, or Word to superimpose the poem onto the photo.
5. Include your name, Twitter handle or website, and location of the  photo.
6. If you are not familiar with the above tools, send me the original photo and poem and I will combine them.
7. One or two student poems are welcomed per teacher, as long as the  teacher submits one, using it as a mentor text for her class.

May your winter be filled with the blessings of the New Year. 

************************

Now greet the first Friday of January at 

The Miss Rumphius Effect 

where Tricia has already started 

ringing in the New Year with Poetry Friday.

A Positively Positive Start to 2015

Connected colleagues have a bond that crosses regions, boundaries, and the globe. With their diverse perspectives, they can enliven conversations, enrich experiences, and engage audiences through blogging, tweeting, other forms of social media, and in face-to-face conversations. 

As we enter a new year of learning together, we recognize that there are many roads to travel. Determination and resiliency will allow us to transverse the bumps in the road and proceed on our journeys. In the end, our destinations will be reached. 

I thank the many educators and colleagues that I have met, collaborated and chatted with, and shared learning. To those professional and personal friends, I wish a positively positive start to 2015.

Travel through 2015  

on a journey of discovery and wonder

celebrating positive thinking!

Listen - Learn - Live!

Be prepared for the rest stops 

along the way. 

Pause and reflect!

Be aware of the detours 

leading you to an alternate route. 

Observe and move on!

Be cautious of the potholes

found on each road.

Veer away before getting stuck!

Be watchful 

on darkened roads.

Bright lights are needed!

Travel the highways of life

with watchful eyes, 

and clear vision

toward your destination.

THEN

Celebrate the travel.

Connect with those you meet.

Journey on with a positive stance.

It is not about the destination.

It is about the journey,

connecting openly with life

and allowing life to connect with you.

Listen to the sounds of the road

Notice-Explore-Live!

Travel the highway of positivity this year. 

Happy New Year!

Today, as I greeted the New Year, I found a blogging group that writes about positivity. Please consider reading the thoughts of the bloggers of the Positive Thinking Thursday group hosted by Jennifer Laffin at Mrs. Laffin's Laughings. I am glad to kick off the 2015 with Jennifer.

The Light that Shines Bright

We have moved into another year and the sound of 2015 rolls off my tongue and swirls in my ears. I LISTEN to its lilt (listen is my OLW for 2015) and find amazement in that it is fifteen years past the millennium. So much has happened since the year 2000 but the one constant is that there is a Light that shines from a stable each year. This Light brings my family hope, peace, and guidance. 

Each year in the weeks prior to Christmas, I carefully unwrap the manager scene that my mother used to showcase on her mantle in the days before it graced my home. Each year, the Baby Jesus is placed on the straw bed in the manger and the animals nearby to breathe warmth into the wooden structure. Mary and Joseph stand as protective guardians while the magi are flanked on the left and the shepherds on the right. An angel from heaven is perched above. Throughout the holidays, the manger never moves from its place of honor because it is the LIGHT of Christmas that shines in my home and lights the way, even when we falter. 

John 1:15

And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

LISTEN!

I write this post to applaud the amazing path Holly Mueller has carved for the Spiritual Journey Thursday community.

Please access the other blog posts here.