Reverb11: One Word

I appreciate Carolyn bringing this Reverb11 writing project to my attention via A Beautiful Ripple Effect.


Word for 2011

Gratitude. This word encapsulates 2011 for me because it is gratitude that has kept me going. Grateful for each day. Grateful for my family. Grateful for a community of friends online who supported me through difficult times, through their example and providing the messages (of gratitude, of action, of beauty) that I needed to read and hear and practice.There are more than I can possibly name or thank.

I got a new job in the beginning of the summer, running the libraries at a small college. I approached it with so much excitement and then encountered frustrations along the way. At one point it was clear I stopped doing what had been working, yoga, meditation, staying connected to people in my life, and daily gratitude, particularly in the form of a gratitude list. Since I've recommitted to these practices, I feel more focused, life weighs less heavily upon me. Frustrations will come and maybe I can put them in context. The bigger picture is wider, more expansive and more fantastic than I can ever comprehend, and the smaller picture is a lot better than one year ago. And all God gives me is the one day. Breathing, staying grateful and remaining connected to that energy and power, as a fellow traveler says, "which is our common denominator."

Word for 2012

I'm glad to have come across this project, thinking of goals which is unusual for me, especially at the end of the year. What is the word I'd like to say? Joy. Joy in appreciating right now people and opportunities in my life. Joy in taking action and writing every day and not apologizing for it. I'm thinking of joy as a step beyond gratitude, not leaving it behind, but rather than just "grateful that I escaped that shipwreck." Joy with gratitude. A cumulative process of right now, a continuum.