Welcome 2014!

Another new year is upon us. What's that Oprah saying that everyone's quoting? Another year to get it right? Well, I'm gonna try.

I read in a few places that some people have a word for the year, like Happy or Motivate and then they try to live the year out according to that word. I tried to find a word but it's hard. Just one word that sums up how I want to honor my life during the year? Can't be done. As a reader and writer I love many words. And then there's the matter of me liking that one word enough. I mean, what if by March I get bored. Or what if life has taken a few detours and it doesn't align with that word I chose? Do I get to change it? Well I started out the year feeling all Inspirational but here it is, Spring, and I'm still a sarcastic-glass-half-empty Schmuck. I'm changing my word to Meh. See what I mean?

I thought about what I wanted to achieve during this year. I would like to walk with more Grace. Be more Mindful. Inspire and Create. Live fully. Love completely. Embrace good health. Be at Peace with myself.

So my search for one word for the year has yielded eight. That's a tall order especially for someone like me with a short attention span who easily gets frustrated. I can only hope for the best.

During the holiday season a friend spoke of an incident in which she encountered an angry woman, who she reasoned had lost all hope. (This is the Reader's Digest version because the actual story is a bit more involved.) My friend's words of wisdom hit me like a mental brick. And that's when I knew my word for 2014 would be Hope.

Renewed hope. Hope for the future. Hope to achieve the goals of those eight words. Without hope, all else is lost. So here's to a happy, healthy New Year. And to Hope.