Word of the year: Balance

It took me a while to decide. There are so many delicious, terrifying, powerful words out there, how do you pick just one? I spent a lot of time dwelling on "joy" in 2009, but I am by no means an expert on joy now. In fact I feel like it could be the word of the year for the next 3 years in a row and I still wouldn't exhaust its depth. However, as much I want to broaden my understanding of joy, and seek peace, and embrace forgiveness, and live dangerously, what it all comes down to for me, at this stage in my life, is a desire for balance. I want to balance my work with my exploration and my art. I want to balance my social time with my private time. I want to balance the images of perfection and sets of expectations that I hold in my heart and mind with reality. I want to balance my checkbook. I want to balance my wardrobe, and the decorations of my house, and the time I spend watching television vs. the amount of time I spend reading and writing. I want to seek harmony and not be overwhelmed by my to-do lists. I know that balance is not a finishline that you reach once and then you're golden, it's a daily composition of thoughts, believes and actions. And with each turn that life takes, I will be faced with different challenges and put into different currents. But I do believe in peace and I do believe in balance and so I will spend this year seeking those things and bringing them into my life in a more abundant, intentional way.