{a journey with words}

there's one final thing to do before diving into 2011 body, mind and soul.

i love the tradition of picking a word for the year.  i started thinking about it a few weeks back, letting different words arrive and then sit with me for a couple of days. seeing how they felt alongside my intentions.

i started off with 'rest', shortly followed by 'gentle' and then 'rejuvenate' showed up in my journaling one morning.

'rejuvenate' [verb]: make (someone or something) look or feel younger, fresher or more lively

while i knew that i wanted the year to be about renewing and reenergising so many aspects of my life, i wasn't so keen on the implied notion of youthfulness being a desired state.  somehow it felt like i'd be foregoing the lessons i learned throughout last year and trying to step backwards in time.  it seemed that what was speaking to me was the idea of change.

'change' [verb]: make or become different; transform

with all my heart i want 2011 to be different to 2010.  there are things i want more of and things i want less of.  i want me to be different too.  if you look at my list it's obvious there's things about myself i want to transform.  i talked here about juxtaposition, and when i sit 2010 and 2011 side by side at the end of the year i'd hope to see real contrast.

somehow though 'change' didn't quite encapsulate what i was reaching for.  i was looking for a word that i could hold onto, that i could carry with me, that would ground me when i needed it {in the same way that surrender was a touchstone for me last year}.  i wanted something more solid.

'power' [noun]: ability to do or act; capability of doing or accomplishing something
 
for a brief moment, when i saw this message from the universe on the frankston esplanade, i entertained notions of power.  but once again it just didn't sit quite right.

yesterday i was back in the studio doing some early morning journaling.  i was writing about my commitment to making 2011 a really wonderful year, noting my strength and my resolve to making things different.  and just like that, there it was.  a quiet and gentle word, yet full of the strength and determination that's been calling to me. my word for 2011...

'resolve' [noun]: firm determination to do something