Just One Word for 2013

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Have you chosen ONE WORD?  I have done this the past two years and have found it a powerful experience.  First year was 'INTUITION'.  I knew it would be a difficult time in one way or another and sometimes to sit still and just listen can be powerful and what is needed.  So it was a good reminder to do just that, and I found I can trust my intuition.  It has made me more confident, more relaxed, more self reliant.

My word for last year was PROGRESS, and again, how well chosen.  So many personal, practical, and creative projects had been started.  It felt much was in progress and I wanted it to continue; for it to be a positive year, with some of these things finally coming together towards completion.  And they have!!

 

 

My utility room is finished. 
And with it the dining room and kitchen. 
It has involved walls being knocked down and rebuilt, radiator and sockets moved, and redecoration.  My kitchen doors have been replaced (Thank you Ikea!!  I would recommend their kitchens and after service 100%). 
And I bought a bookcase from a local antique shop.  Well, that turned out to be a labour of love but after hours and hours of preparation and repainting, I love the finished look and it was just what I was after:

I have also painted and upholstered chairs and I have a table and other furniture I want to upcycle.  After years of living in limbo, not certain whether to make some drastic changes, it has finally started to fall in place. 

Phew!! 

It feels like a big relief, and it has been progress indeed, in so, so many ways.

So, what of 2013?

I still have lots of plans....  lots around the home and to do with my creativity.  But I am also doing lots personally.  I want to be fitter and more healthy, so I kicked the new year off by setting up an online group and aim to get Fit For Fun!  I am doing this with others and we will support, encourage and motivate each other.  I am using the 5:2 programme, and I'll be posting more about this another time. 

Since July I have been working through Julia Cameron's book - The Artists Way. 
Have you heard of this? 
I bought the book years ago, and was totally inspired. The corners are dog eared and I have high lighted pages and written notes in it.  I wanted to engage with it, use it.  But somehow it got hidden on the shelves among my piles of other books until an online friend invited me to join her group and to work through the book together.  Instead of completing a chapter a week, we are doing a chapter a month.  Much more manageable and realistic!!  There have been other things in my life that have also caused a shift in thinking and relating, but I can truly say this book has been AMAZING!  This also deserves a post in itself so I will save more for another time. 

So, back to my question: what of 2013?  Well, after much thought my word just has to be:

 

 TRANSFORMATION 

                 noun:

•       to make different
•       a change or alteration,
•       the act of transforming or the state of being transformed
•       a marked change, as in appearance or character, usually for the better.

.... because so much has changed and will continue to change this year.  It's all positive and exciting. 
I hope your New Year has got off to a good start too, and I would love to hear what your word is, if you have one.