Sarah UpdikeRather than choosing a “Word of the Year” which I typically lose track of by February, I’ve decided to focus on an image as the way of grounding myself in 2025. An image feels like it has more room for invention than a word does and “room for invention” is what I want most this year. I keep hearing a friend of mine say, “Sarah, WORDS MEAN THINGS!” She was reminding me to be careful of the words I choose. I appreciate this reminder because words do mean things, which feels limiting to me this year. (I love you, Word-of-the-Year…it’s not you, it’s me…I just need some space.)
So while I’m not down with picking a word, I still want a touchstone to remind me of what I’m about this year. Enter the “Image of the Year”, where I get to choose the 1,000 words that the picture says. This year’s image is this….
Or any version of a butterfly that happens to show up. In the past, I’ve resisted butterfly imagery, seeing it as a cheesy transformation cliché but over the past couple of years I’ve learned more about butterflies and they are fascinating. And also they keep showing up for me lately, regardless of how hard I try to ignore them–in nature, in classes I’m taking, in books and movies–inevitably a butterfly shows up somewhere.
This particular butterfly is a pin that I bought in November in Sumter, SC to celebrate my 50th birthday. I was born in Sumter and wanted to see where I came into the world as I had no memory of being there. I was surprised to discover that the light poles in downtown Sumter were decorated with butterfly sculptures. Sumter, SC is known for swans, not butterflies, and the folks working in the restaurant where we ate lunch at had no idea why those butterflies were there. “Real funny, Universe”, I thought. When we ducked into a bakery that doubled as an antiques and gift store, and I spotted this handmade pin just as I was getting ready to leave, I thought, “Okay, Universe, I hear you.”
So this pin, and any other butterfly that crosses my path, is my reminder for 2025. Right now it’s saying to me things like, “You already have within you everything you need to thrive in whatever is coming.” and “Dissolving is the process to grow wings.” and “Becoming a butterfly is kind of gross, so if you feel like goo, just go with it.” These all seem like very cliché things for a butterfly to say, but like most clichés there’s a core of wisdom, so rather than question it, I’m going to make like goo and go with it.
If you were to choose an image, what would it be?
