Happy New Year Everyone! For the last several years Thom and I have chosen a WOTY (word of the year). Recently I have read on a number of other blogs that the authors wouldn’t be doing one this year because the practice didn’t seem to serve much of a purpose. We are the opposite. My word for 2021 has been on my mind all year long and I can honestly say it has helped to guide my days in a positive way. With that in mind, Thom and I decided to not only pick a word for 2022, but to do a new Vlog and share our words with you. It’s a short video and we hope you enjoy it and most especially, that it encourages you to pick one of your own. As a teacher and author I have followed for many many years named Alan Cohen recently wrote, “The energy you start the year with will be a big factor in the year you experience. Choose a word that represents the keynote experience you wish for your year, and let it resound through 2022!” May your WOTY do exactly that in the days ahead.
I’m in love. Don’t worry, it’s likely just an infatuation with a 78-year-old man named James Hollis Ph.D. I first encountered his work a month or two ago and since then I’ve read articles and listened to every podcast and YouTube lecture from him I could find. Who is he and why am I infatuated? On the surface Hollis is a practicing Jungian analyst and depth psychologist, author of over 15 books, a public speaker, and the former executive director of the Jung Society of Washington D.C. What I find particularly attractive are the thoughts and ideas that he routinely illuminates—a big part of which is the examination of our lives as we mature and enter the second half of life. And in spite of the many distractions we all face, I can’t help but be captivated by the goldmine of introspection he offers for those of us who are drawn to greater self-discovery and awareness, along with other insights about the innermost workings of our psyche.