Float in 2025 – Word / Intention of the Year

Twenty Twenty-Five

so good to be alive,

finding me floating,

spreading wings to fly.

Jumping, flapping, climbing,

then soar, a bird in the sky,

rising with the thermals,

lifting others to sunshine.

– Blythe Stephens, 2025

Blythe’s Word of the Year annual bullet journal cover page: Float!

With black and gold Art Deco-style background and art postcard from our visit to the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam last summer by Edouard Halouze, Tafel aus Jean Saude “Traite d’enluminure d’art au pochoir,” 1925, Pochoir.

Float, Fly, Soar

2024 was a leap year and both the dynamic term “leap year” and idea of a whole additional juicy day in the year during which to experience and accomplish things inspired me to choose LEAP as last year’s stand or intention.

This year I wish to ride the momentum forward that the bravery of leaping and strength and resilience in climbing has built. There’s still work to do, but we are now at a height to soar, with the perspective to see more than ever before.

As a dancer, it’s an apt analogy, though there is effort behind the movements, we can appear to hover, glide, and yes float, seemingly defying (and in truth, working with) gravity.

Choosing a guiding word or phrase each year has been a part of my intention-setting process since 2015, thanks to my friend Liz, and I also shared about my 2023 Word, 2024 Word and intentions on Instagram, YouTube, and here on the blog.

This year I’m continuing to take inspiration from flying creatures I love such as birds and butterflies, from air and skies and celestial imagery, stars and the sun, moon and planets, clouds, rainbows, storms, wind and weather patterns.

My Word of the Year of Float will fuel my projects, goals, short- and long-term vision. Where can I take the momentum I created last year? In what areas might I be able to exert less force and continue to sail?

How will I uplift others?

Alignment with Purpose, Vision, Mission, Values

Metaphorically floating myself while also lifting others is directly connected to my Purpose of Joy, Essence of Buoyant (!), Creative, Curious, Love, & Leader, my Mission to inspire, equip, and liberate, Vision to support my community to live extraordinary lives through coaching, dance and mindful movement education, and even my Artist’s Prayer includes the line “loving my neighbors, helping them to fly as birds!”

None of us is free until we are all free, and my work includes an intersectional commitment to emancipation for all.

Empowering and uplifting myself and others starts within and then moves out into the world.

My role as a Bliss Catalyst is to assist others in navigating their own brave moves, whether they be artistic, athletic, professional, or personal.

Staying Present to Our Intentions

Staying grounded in this intention informs my attitude and choices throughout the year and helps me get oriented again when I get lost in the circumstances of everyday life, from mundane details to sudden crises or worldwide drama.

Writing out my word and poem in my Bullet Journal and grounding it in beautiful imagery, then placing it where I will interact with it daily and be reminded or where I’m coming from in 2025 will provide support for my commitment.

Art

For my opening spread of my 2025 Annual Book, as a representation of my Word of the Year along with the poem I wrote, I chose to use a postcard I purchased at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam last summer.

“The Messenger,” a 1920 painting on silk by Édouard Halouze and credited as a print from Jean Saudé’s “Traité d’enluminure d’art au pochoir” in 1925, provides a wonderful reference image.

All year, the word and image will provide a reminder of what I am up to, and I’ll continue to collect and share resources along the way.

Poetry & Media

My 2025 “Float” Poem above and others provide direction and motivation. Such as my Haiku #125 (inspired by an email from Auntie Carol) from 2021:

Gentle angel floats

down beside me gracefully

one foot at a time

Every day I’m finding new favorites in the poetry anthology I picked up to take me through 2025, 365 Poems for Life: An Uplifting Collection for Every Day of the Year compiled by Allie Esiri, and I’ll also continue reading other inspiring works of poetry such as Rilke’s Gesammelte Werke and Letters to a Young Poet as well as prose and nonfiction finds.

Music

Janelle Monae’s “​Float” Dance Edit​, the track I used for “F” of my Alphabet Superset, is truly a perfect fit for my Word of the Year, a banger of a song and music video!

Balletlicious Barre+ Dance is another playlist I’m currently moving to, and I regularly share playlists, songs, videos, readings, and other juicy resources from myself and other creators in my free weekly email newsletter.

May you float through 2025 and embody whatever words of power and purpose you so choose!

Questions for Reflection

• What is your Word(s) of the Year?
• Which small action(s) will you take today to embody it?
• What images, quotes, songs, and other resources will inspire you?
• How will you return to your intention when life inevitably carries you away?

Resources for Further Exploration

• Say the Magic Words Article
• Quantum Leaping in 2024 – Word / Intention of the Year Article
• Standing in Beauty in 2023 – Word / Intention of the Year Article
• Blogging My Purpose – the “Why” behind A Blythe Coach Article
• Why Bother Distinguishing Your Why? Purpose Article
• Goal-Setting for Dancers Article
• Analog Journals for Creativity Article
• If you’d like to actually learn how to appear to float like ballerina in the air, you can find a large collection of my ballet-related articles in this Dance Digest Article

My Twenty 25s in 2025 collections, Eating Disorders Awareness Week (EDAW) and International Women’s Day collaborations, explorations in dance, coaching and more coming soon.

Thank you for reading, for being, and for dancing with me, in spirit or in fact!

Take care of yourself, keep moving mindfully, and let me know how if I can be of service. Would love to connect with you in my email newsletter or on social media as well.

Blythe Stephens, MFA & Bliss Catalyst
they/them or she/her
Creator of A Blythe Coach @ablythecoach
helping multi-passionate creatives dance through their difficulties &
take leaps of faith through coaching, dance & yoga education