{intergrowth}

i think that's my word for 2010.

i first came across this idea on ali edward's blog,
and immediately fell in love with the concept.
this is actually something i know i can carry through for the year.
a whisper in the wind which will return me to my path where i might occasionally drift off ~
diverted by fear or distraction.

and it's something i can't fail at.
it's not a resolution to do,
something i will be measured by,
or be judged on.
it's not something i have to achieve,
or even demonstrate.

rather, it's a quiet choice,
an invitation to the universe to provide me with the intention bestowed in the word.

earlier in the month i had been thinking about my word for the forthcoming year and was drawn to the word grow.
i still am.
and i feel, deep in my bones,
2010 is going to be a transformational year of growth for me.

but something niggled, and i didn't feel the word grow completely captured what i was feeling.
then i came across the word integration in a comment or post somewhere (i apologise i don't actually remember where!)
and it clicked.

one of my biggest frustrations currently is i feel there are many disparate parts of myself which seemingly function in isolation of each other.
yet they are all areas and aspects of my life i am discovering and loving;
they are very real parts of me i want to nurture and help grow.
but i also know together they can form a more cohesive and stronger whole.
linking these parts of myself with each other will create something meaningful, so i want to intergrate these aspects too...

intergrow. is that a word?
no, but intergrowth is,
and it means:
in·ter·growth \ˈin-tər-ˌgrōth\
n.
1. The growing of one thing with or into another.

perfect.
i am ready to start putting the pieces of me together.

for inspirational "word-of-the-year" stories, check out christine kane's blog this month as she features guest writers telling their stories of 2009