Word of the Year

New Years resolutions have always been a lost concept to me.  If I didn't have the drive or intent to make a change when I woke up on December 31st, am I really going to wake up with new resolve to change because it's January 1st now?  Not likely.  I do believe that change is good though and my compromise has been to choose a word of the year each year.  Why am I writing about my word of the year in April?  Because this year, my word is 'awareness'.

In the past I have chosen words like 'fearless' and 'present' that are more easily defined and focused on.  When it came time to start thinking about my word for this year, I bounced many around in my brain and 'awareness' kept surfacing.  Awareness?  Am I supposed to raise awareness?  Be aware of my surroundings?  I mean, I usually am.  I pay attention. I don't wander into dark parking garages alone.   No, that's not going to work for me.  I continued to focus on other words trying to make one that I liked better feel right.  I realized during this that my inner voice is FAR more stubborn than I am.  And so my word for this year was born.  I had no idea just how much it was going to shape the coming months.

We are only one-quarter of the way through the year and I have already seen huge progress and had many "light-bulb" moments where everything suddenly makes sense and becomes clear.  Some I have written about, some I have not, and they are too numerous to share every one.  As I was sitting here this morning, having yet another of these moments (more to come on that later), I was suddenly so grateful that this word chose me this year.  That it kept coming to the surface and demanding to be chosen when I wasn't sure that it was the right one.  Because it is the right one.  In fact, it just might be the most perfect one yet.