Last week, as a part of her latest wonderful Friday list J asked her readers what their 11 words for 2011 would be. I took a day to type in my words in a comment on her post, but overall the words were easy to choose.
Then a couple of days later, I’ve accidentally come across this post from BigPictureClasses which also got me thinking. This time of a single word for 2011. Now that was harder!
To be truthful, as I started contemplating, I kept thinking along the lines of choosing one word out of the eleven I had already chosen.
But somehow, they didn’t fit.
They’re great words with much meaning and hope for the year to come, for who I am right now and who I’ll end up being when 2011 ends, yet I couldn’t make a decision and choose just one.
And then it hit me – the one little word has chosen me.
I love it already!
So today, after those few days of being inspired and considering both these post’s provocations, and because I generally tend to do things on my own terms, I present to you – my combined list of words in one sentence:
In 2011 I choose to hope, dare, live, smile, dream, love, create, appreciate, listen, leap, enjoy.
Somehow choose was the exact word I needed, without my even knowing it. Because thinking about it, every day, every week, every year (and by extension – Life) can be broken down into a series of choices.
And so, I choose to hope. To refuse giving up on anyone, including myself. To see the best in others. To keep believing when everyone else has stopped. To think that good will always prevail in the end. To open up my heart and mind to the magic I can/will find behind each reality.
I choose to surrender to the moment, to trust the voice within, to let go, to move on, to accept, to look fear in the face and act on Life’s stage, to dare to live and to smile throughout the journey especially at times when I’m hurting or when I feel like crying.
I choose to believe in myself and in what I do, to stay optimistic, to continue to dream, making my dreams an asset, turning dreaming into doing.
I choose to fearlessly love everything that makes me happy.
I choose to create. I have a rich imagination, many many ideas in various creative fields, the ambition to put them into practice, so I choose to take the chance of making messes sometimes in order to achieve creating something I’ll love. I choose to appreciate my gift(s) and not to second-guess myself.
I choose to not only hear, but to listen. To put aside pride and ask for help when I need it, to be open for suggestions, and constructive criticism. To foster understanding and to reflect upon what has been said.
I choose to leap – and by extension, to trust that the net will appear. And even when it doesn’t, I choose to enjoy the flight and land on my feet.
I will make many choices this year!
However, I’ll keep in mind that sometimes, when it’s least expected, it works the other way around too:
words, characters, books, songs, places, objects, people, feelings, dreams, happenings… Life – will choose me.
Your turn: what are your eleven words for 2011? What about that one little word your heart is whispering to you right now?
