My word? Wonder.

"Some people ask, “What if I haven’t found my true passion?”It’s dangerous to think in terms of “passion” and “purpose” because they sound like such huge overwhelming ideas.If you think love needs to look like “Romeo and Juliet”, you’ll overlook a great relationship that grows slowly.If you think you haven’t found your passion yet, you’re probably expecting it to be overwhelming.Instead, just notice what excites you and what scares you on a small moment-to-moment level.

If you find yourself glued to Photoshop, playing around for hours,dive in deeper. Maybe that’s your new calling.If you keep thinking about putting on a conference or being a Hollywood screenwriter, and you find the idea terrifies but intrigues you, it’s probably a worthy endeavor for you.You grow (and thrive!) by doing what excites you and what scares you everyday, not by trying to find your passion."

Derek Sivers is an entrepreneur and programmer.  Read sivers.org and try muckwork.com

Good morning!  I receive weekly emails from a site that has nothing but good news, personal stories of triumph and a heads up on movements on the net that bring about solutions.  The above article depicts the word passion - just one of 70 useful words for 2010 on What Matters Now.  It seemed that many of the words offered had to do with finance and business, but all were composed in such a way that everyone might benefit from applying the  thought process to any task at hand.  Elizabeth Gilbert's word- "Ease".  After reading through the slides, I came upon her rendition, smiled and said-"I love Elizabeth Gilbert."   In my opinion, her thoughts always sum up everything outside of the box, whittle them away and in a nutshell- offer clarity to things I might not have seen had it not been for her clear observation.  I have seen her talks on Ted, interviews on television- she's always the consumate spokesperson for her craft but also like the rest of us- nervously fidgeting, scratching our heads, talking with our hands to draw out the point we're trying to make.  I think she has passion in a headlock, with every word- she wrestles it to the ground and squeezes out every drop.  

The website I visited asked for our own words- what might we add to the list that could change the tide of powerless thinking into a wave of fearless change.  My word?  Wonder.  In looking over my life, for years I merely squandered moments that turned drudgingly into long stretches of just getting by.  When tragedy befell my days, I looked upon the time to come as a constant struggle, not even sure if I had it in me to survive.  It was wonder, after all- that saved me.  To me, wonder is an ever evolving question- but also it is answers, open ended.  I suppose that outlook could drive a person crazy...though in my experience-wonder drives a person towards a life that is as wide as it is hopefully- long.  What is your word?  (And why...!)

Take care-