I can only imagine . . .

No resolutions. No promises.

Ice Maze © Kathryn LeRoy

But . . .

I have an intention.

“Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all is a form of planning.”
― Gloria Steinem

Since 2016, I have chosen a word, or sometimes three, to focus my intentions for the coming year. I think of that word as my compass for when I lose my way. Amid the busyness, frustration, and despair that floats through the air, choking life’s joy, I need a reset button. I have a word.

Beyond © Kathryn LeRoy

I gave up resolutions long ago. Mine often felt like aimless wishes that became broken promises by the second week of January.

Instead, I’ve adopted a “word” and an “intention” fueled by my curiosity to become a better human, not a perfect being, but one who holds fast to values and dreams. When I explored the world of journaling, I discovered Ryder Carroll’s approach of asking three questions:

1. What do I want to do?

2. Why do I want to do it?

3. What small thing can I do right now to get started?

Number three transforms an abstract desire into bite-sized steps, one building upon another, until what seemed out of reach begins to take shape and bloom.

Awaken © Kathryn LeRoy

A simple daily practice pushes me out of the gloominess of inertia. I have focus, a path, a next step, and then, another.

As 2025 rolled into view, I made five lists, a strategy I learned from Souleika Jaouad.

1. What in the last year are you proud of?

2. What did this year leave you yearning for?

3. What’s causing you anxiety?

4. What resources, skills, and practices can you rely on in the coming year?

5. What are your wildest, most harebrained ideas and dreams?

The lists remind me that despite the items left undone, I accomplished much to celebrate. My yearning exposes what is most important to me. Anxiety leads to worry about things over which I have no control and stifles my creativity and joy. I may not know everything (in fact I know I don’t), but I am constantly learning and building my toolbox of resources.

The last question is the most fun and the scariest at the same time. Except, this year I chose a word that opens the door for those “wildest, most harebrained ideas and dreams.”

Imagine

And a simple intention to feed my curiosity and harness my focus.

Imagine the possibilities.

Pick a word, set an intention, and walk through the sunshine and the storms with hope and possibility.

Happy New Year!

A few ideas on how to expand your imagination and make your art, or garden, or macrame, or a crusty loaf of sourdough bread.

Janet Echelman took imagination seriously and discovered a new art form.

My two favorite songs for imagining: Gene Wilder singing Pure Imagination, and John Lennon’s, Imagine, also sung by Pentatonix.

Waiting for the Possibilities © Kathryn LeRoy

“The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.”
—Jean Jacques Rousseau

Imagination Sparkles © Kathryn LeRoy

If you would like to read more from me, visit my website. I’ll be waiting for you there.

With gratitude,

Kathryn

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