I’ve been embattled in a war of words the past few days – trying to choose my Word of the Year. Last year, overjoyed came to me easily and felt instantly perfect. This year, I’ve gone round and round with a handful of candidates – each good, but not quite right – meant to inspire me and guide me through 2012. Here are the words I’ve been wrestling with, each representing things I want to attract more of into my life…
Comfortable – I want to achieve that sense of being wrapped in a warm blanket, comfortable and happy with every decision I make. I want to feel comfortable in my own skin, to bask in the comfort of having family close, and help my kids feel comfortable in the great big world.
Gentle – I want to be gentle with myself this year. I need to be gentle with myself after a year in which my heart felt like a punching bag. My body and soul are craving a little TLC.
Light – I am passionate about not only shining my own light, but helping others do the same – especially women who have watched their lights dim and need little bits of inspiration to spark something wonderful and wise within them.
Grace – I love the way this word washes over me, requires nothing of me, and promises that quiet goodness will come to me.
I love each word, but none felt motivating or soul-stirring enough to qualify as THE one word that could carry me through this year. Then, yesterday, as the words and desires were swirling around my head, encircling my heart, jostling for position, I heard a line from a favorite old song by Sugarland play in my head: “I need a little less hard times, I need a little more bliss.”
YES! YES! THAT’S IT! I knew that second that all those words, comfortable + gentle + light + grace, added up beautifully to equal {{{BLISS}}}.
Bliss is officially defined as perfect happiness and serene joy. It is an innate spark that we must follow, according to the late great Joseph Campbell. It is a feeling of pure contentment, a sense that all is well. It is the result of witnessing magic or seeing serendipity at play. It twinkles and sparkles. It is hearty laughter and inner peace. It is music to the soul. It is just what I need. And I realize now that it worked its way into my new blog header above, before I even {consciously} knew it would be my word of 2012. Hello, bliss.
“If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in your field of bliss, and they open doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.” ~ Joseph Campbell
