2013's wild word : V O I C E

"give me one wild word to follow...."


those of you who have been following me for a while know that i don't make the typical resolutions
because you know, and i know all too well, i'll never ban sugar or carbs nor will i set up a list of goals
for an entire year that are bound to fall through leaving me feeling like a quitter--which i'm not...i'm simply flexible.

what has really worked for me over the past few years is to follow terry tempest williams and choose one "wild word" to guide me throughout the year. last year my word was "pages." this worked for me...i began to write and write and write both for school and for my personal life. so much has been put down on paper--which means the scary part is here:

this year i mean to take maya angelou's words to heart and lift the meaning of my words off of the page and deep into humanity. i've known for years that my voice has been broken due to fear and mistrust of myself. now, today, in 2013 i'm more than ready to speak up because it's all been pent up for so long. i'm ready to transition from good to something more far-reaching.

i'm especially hoping for time to raise my voice more here on the blog, and create opportunities for all of you to raise your voice as well. our voices will wake, and we will indeed move mountains.

here's to 2013 and the voice!

2012's wild word :

i usually don't make new year's resolutions as i feel that every day

presents an opportunity to set goals, to strive to do better.

so a couple of years ago i began my own new year's tradition

that would help guide me and my decisions as i navigated through the days & months ahead:

inspired by terry tempest williams, i ask the earth to

"give me one wild word to follow..."

last year the word that popped into both heart and mind was content.

i knew it was time to be content with just a handful of goals, things, people, travels, etc.

i found gratitude for what i already had and for what i was already doing,

and, for the most part, learned to say "no" to very attractive opportunities that were, nevertheless, not quite the opportunities that would have taken me to where i want to be.

this year the one wild word that has kept a solid place in heart and mind is pages.

it truly was the first word to pop into my head as i asked the earth to

give me one wild word to follow.

i did try to reason that word out of my head as i felt a bit of pressure from that word:

i felt that there's no way this year can ask me to fill pages with my own personal writing

as i will be much busier than last year...

but then the wild word gave me some clarification:

pages can indeed be blank pages i fill with my own simple words,

but it can also be the pages i read that contain more words that will inspire and inform.

pages from my piano and violin books as i continue to master such elegant and wise

instruments. pages that i write for professors. pages that are notes to those i love.

this wild word i want to follow will help me to focus

on writing down my thoughts, experiences, feelings as we travel to places near and far,

i will continue writing poetry;

it will remind me to read as many pages from great authors as i can,

i will play music from composers that have inspired my own writing.

this wild word, pages, will motivate me to write, to read, to make music, and to share my humanity.

what's your take on new year's resolutions? do you make them? what are they this year? 

would love to hear what has you inspired for the new year ahead.

my year of contentment was just what i had hoped for

we made the move from california to utah.

see our last visit to the coast here.

see all of our skiing outings here.

come on our desert road trips here.

visit my oxford posts here.

all of our photos from england are right here.

see our camping photos here.

come to our cabin with us here.

beautiful hikes here and here and here and here.

pretty fall picnics here, here, and here.

it's been an incredible year. and i am content.

happy new year!