In my first post of 2016 I wrote about selecting a theme for the year to come, as opposed to making resolutions for the year. I acknowledged that it wasn’t my original idea, but little did I know that this theme-word idea was a real “thing.” After coming across the notion and deciding to do it, I suddenly started seeing it pop up all over the place.

Interestingly, it seems a pattern that people have to try on a couple of theme words before they find the one that really fits for where they are at this point in their life. And so it was with me.

My first theme word choice was “creativity.” I want to continue purposefully feeding my creativity by writing this blog, playing with photography, creating stained glass art. Even undertaking home improvement projects as I have been doing is an exercise in creativity.

The concept excites me, but the word “creativity” as my overall theme for the year just wasn’t that inspiring.

Next, I thought about choosing “initiative” as my theme. As in taking the initiative in making choices and taking actions to intentionally steer my life in the direction I want it to go. While that’s a worthy idea, it proved to be a worse choice than “creativity,” as I couldn’t even remember it half the time.

Let’s see… was it inventive? Intentional? Inertia??? Obviously, if I can’t remember the word for even a day, it’s not going to be a big motivator for the year.

Then I commented on a post Susie Lindau wrote about theme words (I seem to refer to her blog a lot. I’m not like a crazed stalker fan or anything; I just seem to resonate will things she posts.) I wrote that I hadn’t settled on a word yet. Her reply: “Don’t think about it and something will pop into your mind like magic!”

Like magic? Magic… hmmm… Magic!! That was it! And I even knew what my theme song would be (everybody needs a theme song, even if you aren’t doing the one-word thing; you’ll need it for those occasions when you have to run up 72 stone steps in Philadelphia in the winter).

My theme song for 2016 is “Magic Every Moment,” by my favorite musician, Dan Fogelberg.

The chorus sums it up nicely:

There’s a magic every moment
There’s a miracles each day
There’s a magic every moment
Oh won’t you let the music play
Oh won’t you let the music play

Here are the full lyrics (and audio*):

Magic Every Moment, by Dan Fogelberg

I awoke this morning to a shattering sound
And I went downstairs and found these shards of glass strewn all around
And there upon the floor I found this poor broken dove
And it made me realize how very fragile is this life that we so love

I came back up to bed and I held you so tight
And I prayed up to the father, oh I prayed with all my might
That he’d always keep you with me, that he’d always keep you safe
And when I went downstairs I found that dove had somehow up and flown away

There’s a magic every moment
There’s a miracles each day
There’s a magic every moment
Oh won’t you let the music play
Oh won’t you let the music play

On a high and windy island I was gazing out to sea
When a long forgotten feeling came and took control of me
It was then the clouds burst open and the sun came pouring through
When it hit those dancing waters in an instant all eternity I knew

There’s so much we take for granted, there’s so much we never say
We get caught up in the motion of just a living day to day
We are fettered to the future, we are prisoners of the past
And we never seem to notice ’til our lives have finally slipped right through our grasp

There’s a magic every moment
There’s a miracles each day
There’s a magic every moment
Oh won’t you let the music play
Oh won’t you let the music play

You can see forever in a single drop of dew
You can see that same forever if you look down deep inside of you
There’s a spark of the creator in every living thing
He respects me when I work but he so loves me when I sing

There’s a magic every moment
There’s a miracles each day
There’s a magic every moment
Oh won’t you let the music play
Oh won’t you let the music play

There’s a magic every moment
There’s a miracles each day
There’s a magic every moment
Oh won’t you let the music play
Oh won’t you let the music play

This year I’m going to let the music play!

How about you? Do you have a theme word?

• Dan Fogelberg passed away in December of 2007. I don’t believe he made any actual music videos (or at least I haven’t found any).