This week I ran out of pages in the journal I have been using for a few months. When this happens, it can be a worthwhile practice, before packing the journal away, to look at patterns, to consider what’s worth keeping, what to let go of, and what might need ongoing attention. 

As it happened, this specific journal contains entries back to January, and it includes some entries about a spiritual practice I follow at the beginning of every year; namely, it is a practice of picking a word as a gift. 

This concept of picking a word as a gift is not a new one; in fact, it has become a mainstream practice, passed on by creative thinkers, life coaches, and the like. And it can be done at any time, not just at the beginning of the year. 

I first learned of it from a Christian community where the practice is to offer the words on the Feast of the Epiphany, celebrated on January 6. This annual feast day celebrates the