My Word

During the church service on Sunday, our pastor talked about the concept of knowing your "word." As my husband and I saw Eat Pray Love just the previous night, this was not an unknown concept for us. But answering the question itself is difficult, I think. I believe that if questioned, many people who I know haven't settled on their "word."

The idea, according to Liz Gilbert, is of knowing the one word that truly describes you - not what you do, but a word that represents your life, or your life's purpose.  For Liz, she arrived at attraversiamo, or "let's cross over" as her word. It was appropriate, descriptive, and also something that English is not--a single word to describe a complex idea.  English just doesn't do a good job of being concise and encompassing like some other languages.

Like Liz in the book, I think it is hard to not start defining your word in relation to what you do.  She initially thought writer was perhaps her word. But through a long, soul-searching, transformative journey, she was able to really find the right word for her.

I'm still thinking about what my word is.  Some that I have been tossing around include "engagement," "choice," and "discovery." But the still small voice inside is not yet satisfied.  I think I have more work to do before deciding.