The Word Of The Year

If you have spent any time on Facebook this week, you may have seen reminders to choose your 'word' for 2011; the one word that you will embody in the coming year and that you will allow, in turn, to embody you.  Given that I am not one who goes for the unrealistically high bar that making resolutions* sets, choosing a word before the stroke of midnight tonight has become my goal this week (along with sorting, cleaning, purging, organizing, and digging out from under the holidays in general and counting down the minutes until Monday morning and the return to sanity and schedule.)

I have to admit that choosing my word has been much harder than I expected, and I may or may not have turned to a dictionary at one point to help my quest (and should you need to do the same, I would advise that you steer clear of the Children's Dictionary . . . lots of nouns and pictures, but not a lot of ideas.)  One word for 365 days . . .

And then it hit me.

For a good portion of my adult life I have felt overwhelmed.  While various jobs, marriage, children, home ownership and all of the things that come with being a grown-up have been rewarding and fantastic in their own way, they have also often been a lot to take in, and more often than not, I have felt like a passive observer rather than in control of the things going on around me.  In 2010 I worked hard to take back my life, making decisions and changes that I hoped would lead to personal growth and development.  While many of these decisions and changes did foster growth and change (in both expected and very unexpected ways), as I reflect on the year as a whole, I know that I still spent much of it overwhelmed by everything going on around me.  Therefore, my word for 2011 is EMBRACE.

I had initially settled on the word ACCEPT (which means to receive willingly or to give admittance to or approval to), but just couldn't get over the passivity that it implies - I wanted something that involves taking action.  To EMBRACE something means to take up especially readily or gladly (according to Merriam-Webster, anyway), and while I already know I won't always ACCEPT things readily or gladly in the new year, there is no reason that I can't EMBRACE them for what they war - challenges, blessings in disguise, eye openers, or gifts.  There is a physicality and intended acceptance in the word EMBRACE that I need and that I can apply with purpose.

In 2011, I will EMBRACE that which is placed before me - the things that I love, the things that I don't love, the things that I can change, and the things that I can't.  I will EMBRACE life.

Now you tell me . . . what will your 'word' for 2011 be?

*I have amended my no resolutions policy this year and am resolving that on January 1st, 2011 I will stop hijacking Michelle's blog and will write in my own little corner of the Internet - though I am sure I will still contribute at Mom's Sippy Cup . . . I've just got too much to say!  Check my profile tomorrow for a live link!