Embark

Word of the year: EmbarkThis year I realized (more than once) I have spent my whole life waiting for a better moment, a voice from the sky, a helping hand - an angel.I have shelved thousands of ideas, suppressed as many brilliant bursts of expression - stood standing on the shore as my bolder friends cast off, braving the currents and tides. I have turned away from my own beauty, my own brilliance.Until this year... when I realized: Oh, you have to get in the boat.You have to embark. You have to begin anyway. This has been a year of extraordinary discovery. I have left the familiar shore of home and family, of comfortable married life, of routine and resignation - and set off, in my little boat, onto a sea of miracles.If we were allowed a second word, it would be "ohhhh...." or "opening" or "I see," which though it is two words, would be okay - a small risk that I am now willing to take.For next year, my word is: Courage. And my second word (we writers really should not be limited to one) would be: Infrastructure.This is only the beginning. :)