The power of a word

A word, when used repeatedly, can be very powerful.  I'm not talking about a written word, or even a spoken word.  I'm talking about a word that keeps showing up at the oddest times and in the strangest places.

Earlier this year, as I read the weekly wrap-up on Roots of She, I was struck by something Liz Lamoreux said in her post Heal Your Heart  In it she explains how at the end of each year she chooses a word for the following year to "be a companion that brings me back to center amidst whatever beauty and uncertainty await."  But what really struck me was when she said, "I love how choosing a word invites me to let go of having resolutions I might or might not keep, and instead gently pushes me to look forward with self-kindness and think about how I most want the next year to unfold."

Having already decided that I would not make any resolutions this year but rather that I would do a 2012 Wish List, this really resonated with me.  And I did have a word last year.  However, I did not pick that word for myself... it picked me.  It kept showing up all the time, in different places and situations and, in the end, it sort of characterized my year.  My word last year was paradox.

This year I'm sort of tempted to pick a word.  Yet I find it's more revealing when the word picks me.  Already there is one that has been circling, almost as if enticing me to follow it.  I will have to wait a bit, however, to see if it is the right word for my year.

For now, though, I feel like I need to keep the word compassion close by.  I don't know exactly why, it just feels like something I need to do.  Whether it's me or others I need to be more compassionate with is yet to be seen.  For now I will try to make compassion my daily mantra.