One Word

I was reading through my Bloglines and I found two instances of this "one word" reference. One of my friends, Laura, also formerly from Southern California saw it on one of the blogs she reads, Rainy, and as it turns out she was one of my friends too.

So let me explain this a little... The way I see this is you chose one word that you will use as your mantra or target for the new year. The one word that will inspire you and either drive you towards your goal or gives you safety or solace when you're not at ease.

I thought about this for a few days and in multiple ways of how it would influence me.

My word for 2012 is Arcadia

Merriam Webster defines it as "a region or scene of simple pleasure and quiet"

the Origin of Arcadia:

Region of ancient Greece frequently chosen as background for pastoral poetry

First Known Use: circa 1890

Those of you from California or familiar with Southern California recognize the word by the city or Arcadia. After reading the definition, I didn't think of the City as how it feels to me.

I started with the word Paradise and looked for a synonym that was more fitting but held the same feeling for me. When I saw the word Arcadia and read the definition, I saw how I could apply the word to my life. I want to create a place of solace in my life. I will strive for simple pleasures. You are probably wondering about me wanting quiet... I want to strive to find quiet in my mind. Easing of the stress in my life that just feels so counterproductive and doesn't help anyway. When I lay my head down at night, I feel good about my day and my mind is free of the noise I can't control. When I lived in California, I would often go to the ocean and find solace. Feeling so small next to the power of the ocean and feeling the breeze wash over me cleansing my soul. I want to find that place in my mind that can give me the release feelings because I'm not near the ocean anymore. Better yet is to change how I see my life so I'm not holding onto the burdens that would make me want to drive to the ocean to purify my mind.


When I listen to music and hear mind stimulating questions I often pose them to myself or question my life choices. My life is never empty of questions, sometimes simple and some are deep or complex that requires one to question your emotions. Some questions ask you to learn about subjects that may feel foreign but it's all good. I thirst for knowledge and new experiences that lead to new questions. I see my life as a poem or song but sometimes the background isn't always what I hoped for but when I apply Arcadia to my life I hope I can make the canvas of my life more pastoral, simple or clean. I see it this way, if life is like a song then you not only want to feel the meaning of words but hear the melody in your head. The lyrics often speak to me but if the melody doesn't feel good then it feels incomplete or vise-versa.

Arcadia, my word for 2012

OK enough of the deep thought :)

Life is Good