2022: Shivelight.

 Shivelight. 

While I love to hike and that often takes place in the woods, my number preference is always to be in the wide open expanse under a brilliant blue sky with a giant ball of sun shining above me. I don’t mind a few wispy clouds, but I want that full sun hitting me. Extra points if I’m on or beside a body of water. 

My southeast Tennessee home is set in a valley, the Tennessee Valley. We live close to forests and mountains. Most hiking done around here is done through the woods and mountains. The hiking I’ve done in the western parks was often done in forests and mountains as well, or through orange hoodoos or towering red cliffs, through slot canyons. I can’t think of a single hike I’ve done through a wide open field without vegetation, other than a part of the Carver’s Gap hike on Round Bald and Wilburn Ridge in Grayson Highlands.

Since my taste for hiking has begun, I’ve spent a lot of time walking through forests, craning my neck for a peek at my best friend, the sun. I’ve come to fall in love with the rays of light that cut through the canopy, reminding me that my favorite thing is still in the sky, just waiting for me to emerge from the woods. 

As I pondered a word for 2022, I was looking at some nature blogs and came across a word that was coined by the British poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, “shivelight”. The word refers to the rays of light that lance through the trees. 

The second half of 2021 was one that found me, more often then not, sitting in the darkness rather than looking for the light. So as soon as I saw this word, thinking of what hopes I have for myself in 2022, I felt drawn to it. I had a short list of about 6 that I had prayed over and never could feel good about any of them, but as soon as I saw this one, I knew. 

I want my 2022 to be one of shivelight. I would prefer it to be a year I mentioned at the beginning of this writing, one of brilliant blue skies and a glowing ball of sunlight, but I’m realistic enough to know that just because a calendar turns the page into a new year, circumstances don’t immediately change. So I know the obstacles will still be there, between me and the sun. 

But I want to become a person whose first inclination is to look for the light. I want this to be a year of finding the light.