Woman at beach

2021 Word Of The Year To Live By

Surrender. That’s the 2021 word of the year to live by.

If there’s one thing that 2020 has taught me, it’s that some things are simply beyond our control. We spend so much of our lives planning, managing, controlling, and obsessing over perfection because all of these things completely overturned by a global pandemic. In many ways, it gave us permission to simply let go of the extraneous and focus on what’s truly important. A blessing in disguise. This is not to diminish the severity of COVID-19 and its impact. It is to simply acknowledge the beauty of pausing, reflecting, letting go, and surrendering to what truly matters. 

This is why my 2021 word of the year to live by is “surrender.” To let out a giant exhale and to cease control of every little thing around me. To replace perfection with authenticity and vulnerability, planning with intuition. For example, drown out societal expectations and give in to whatever your soul is calling for. To be comfortable with uncertainty. We have survived the impossible, now imagine what we can accomplish by simply surrendering to what matters the most to us, whatever that may be. 

 

Godhuli Gupta is a Chicago-based poet, writer, and full-time mother. Her poems explore the trials of motherhood, the South Asian immigrant experience, marriage, and relationships. She is a former “third culture kid” who has grown up in six countries around the world, studied in Evanston, worked in Toronto and Chicago, and currently resides in the suburbs of Chicago raising her two children with her husband. You can read more of her work on Instagram @wordsby.godhuli

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