word of the year

well, this past year was both extremely exciting and extremely difficult. I have a feeling that's how life works and the scale of everything is just going to get bigger and bigger.

I don't know if I ever explained this before, but I've decided against resolutions for the year. instead, starting last year, I chose a word for the year that I wanted to incorporate into my life. I chose peace. this year was the least peaceful year ever, but I came to realize that seeking peace was perhaps more important than having it. I can honestly say I worked really hard at this, and I didn't have the problem of forgetting my search for it because it was so conspicuously missing from my life that I was often thinking about it and working for it.

that said, I feel like peace was the word I needed for last year. and now it's time for a new word!

the word for 2010 is joy

"Find expression for a sorrow, and it will become dear to you. Find expression for a joy, and you will intensify its ecstasy." - Oscar Wilde

"The joy of a spirit is the measure of its power." - Ninon de Lenclos

"There is an alchemy in sorrow. It can be transmuted into wisdom, which, if it does not bring joy, can yet bring happiness."- Pearl Buck

"Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world. We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy."