One Word

Last year, I stumbled upon Ali Edwards' theory on replacing the usual complicated New Year's resolution with a single word.

I don't even remember the last time I made a resolution, but this one word thing really appeals to me. In choosing a single word, and granting it your focus, I have no doubt that word pervades your life in powerful ways.

So, last year, I tried it. My word for 2011 was Abundance. I wrote it on the dry erase board perched on our bedroom door so I'd see it both coming and going.

Dan added 'healthy' and a tiny self-portrait. Miss G added the rest.

And we did have abundance this year. An abundance of calm. Of deepening love and gratefulness for each other. Of happy and family after several frustrating years achieving little success at either. Of unexpected windfalls and lucky breaks and cancer-free blood tests. An abundance of fresh goals and refocused clarity.

And, because God's hilarious, we also had some quirkier abundance. An abundance of road trips, for example. An abundance of dogs needing homes, not all of whom we could adopt (oh, Natasha....). An abundance of houses needing remodeling, an abundance of cars needing repairs. An abundance of really, really boring articles to write.

But overall, I'm calling the year a success. Enough to try it again this year. My word for 2012? Prosperity.

Dan insisted on including 'positive.' Miss G helped me decorate.

Prosperity. Noun. A successful, flourishing, or thriving condition. Especially in financial respects; good fortune.

I'm tired of uncertainty. I mean, of course we never know what's next exactly, and I'm a fan of serendipity anyway, but this constant unknowing about work, which then determines our constantly irregular finances and constantly changing schedules and life plans-- I've just had it. We've built our foundation on rocky soil here, and while our core has grown strong in spite of that, our potential for future growth remains severely limited.

One of my bosses, whenever one of us complained about our personal lives, would answer (not unsympathetically) with: "You always have an abundance of what you tolerate."

I'm done tolerating. I'm ready for some bushwhacking with a machete. Ready for accomplishment. Arrival. Bloom. Expansion. Good. Growth. Increase. Plenty. Success. Thriving. Victory. Wealth. Well-being.

Prosperity, and every one of its synonyms.

What's your word?