Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart. ~unknown

A few years ago, one of my good friends told me about her "word" for the year.  I don't even remember what word she picked, but the general idea behind it was to pick just one word that would become your focus for the new year; kind of like a New Year's resolution without the specificity that could potentially lead to a broken self-promise.  It sounded like a neat idea, but for whatever reason I didn't get around to picking a word.

Then the other day when I was reading one of the message boards I frequent, I saw a thread started by someone who was trying to decide what her "one little word" was going to be for the year.  Apparently this concept has been around in the blogging world for awhile, which is probably where my friend first heard of it.  This particular post on the message board has now turned into a multi-page thread where different women are sharing the words they are considering for their word this year. People are picking all different kinds of words for lots of different reasons; focus, gratitude, simplify, healthy, content, smile, adventure, persistence, rebuild...just to give a few examples. Because of that thread, I have started to think that I might need "one little word" this year.

So what might my word for this year be?  Needing a word started me out on a hunt for a quote that might inspire me.  Nothing I found was floating my boat until I remembered that I have a Pinterest board that is nothing but quotes.  I went over to reread some of the quotes that have struck me for one reason or another over the past few months and found a quote and my "one little word" all at the same time.

     Peace. 

It does not mean to be in a place where there is

 no noise, trouble or hard work.  

It means to be in the midst of those things 

and still be calm in your heart. 

~unknown

It is perfect for me right now.  I already know that there are going to be troubles and hard work in this coming year.  I have a toddler. I have a job in a school district that is cutting between 20-25 million dollars.  I have friendships and family relationships that aren't always easy.  I have personality flaws that lead to self-struggle and problems.  There is going to be plenty of noise, trouble and hard work...there always is.

The difference this year though is that I would like there to be a little more calm in my being as I work through the noise and the trouble.  There is a scattered feeling that I can't even really put into words that has seemed to follow me the last few years.  It doesn't get in the way of me doing things, but it certainly leaves me feeling drained and exhausted.  In place of this scattered feeling, I would like to feel more peace.

I looked up the definition of "peace" in the dictionary and there were several.  The first three do a good job of what I am hoping to find more of this coming year.

Definition of peace:

1. a state of tranquility or quiet;

2. freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions; 

3. harmony in personal relations.

I am not sure how I am going to go about acquiring this peace I am looking for.  I think I might first make or find some visual reminders of my word to have in the different spaces I occupy throughout my days.  Also, I don't want to commit to it completely yet, but I am also playing around with the idea of a monthly check-in here, although my guess is that if I truly work on making this word my mantra for the year it will probably pop up here more than just once a month.  I am not really sure, I guess that might be why it will take me all year (and probably then some).

I think for now, I am just going to think about it for awhile.  Luckily, I have a few more days of Christmas break and while there are a few things I would like to get done before going back to work, there isn't anything really pressing.  

Are you interested in joining me?  What might your "one little word" be for this coming year?