The exercise was simple.

On the table was a small basket filled with wooden tokens. They were smooth and unfinished, each one tied with a string and wooden beads.

You could feel it when you picked one up. Not heavy. Just real.

Beside the basket were markers and a small frame that read:

One word to release.
One word to carry forward.
Just for you.

Each person took a token.

On one side, they wrote the word they were leaving in 2025.
On the other side, they wrote the word they were taking into 2026.

That was it.

There was no sharing required. No explaining. No pressure to say the right thing. Just a moment to slow down and write what felt true.

Why the Token Matters

This was not written on paper.

It was written on wood. Something solid. Something you do not crumple up or throw away.

The word you leave does not disappear the moment you name it.
And the word you carry is not a goal. It is a choice.

The token can be hung somewhere you will see it.
It can be picked up again.
Turned over when you forget.

One side holds what you are releasing.
The other holds what you are choosing to carry forward.

No Pressure. Just Awareness.

This exercise is not about resolutions or doing better this year.

It is about awareness.

About noticing what has run its course.
And what you want to hold with more intention.

The quiet mattered.
The simplicity mattered.
And the fact that nothing had to be shared mattered.

Sometimes the most meaningful shifts happen when we stop talking and let our hands write what our heart already knows.

If You Want to Try This Yourself

You do not need a group.

You do not even need a wooden token, though I do think holding something physical matters.

Take something solid.
Write one word you are releasing.
Write one word you are carrying forward.

Keep it somewhere you will see it.

Not as a reminder to be better.
Just as a reminder to be honest.

This practice reflects how I approach wellness and personal growth. We slow down, listen inward, and choose with intention rather than urgency or perfection.
Simple. Intentional. Grounded.

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with intention,
Loana
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BLG means growth

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