Ripples in a Pool - First Ring

There is a December Challenge going around called Reverb 10  that has been recommended by Becky as a possible way to make one's blog posts more regular. Regular posting being the curse of all Internet contributors, I decided to give it a try.  I'm a little late to the game so I will do Exercise one and two today, then three and four tomorrow (getting all caught up by Sunday - five).

Prompt #1 (From December 1st): One Word
One Word. Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you? (Author: Gwen Bell)


If I had to choose a word to express 2010, I would have to go with Waldeinsmakiet (German: The feeling of being alone in the woods). At first blush it might seem like a sad word, yet walking alone in the woods is a bit more layered than that. There's a different kind of silence in the woods (which really isn't silence) that makes the mind wander in a quiet, subdued way. It might be the rhythm of walking or how everything changes slowly in the woods when one chooses to sit and gaze out at it or the pleasure of silence that only a city dweller finds unique. Many a good story has started in a woods (Brida, The Divine Comedy, Robin Hood, Stardust, most fairy tales). As far as expressing my year, there has been a feeling that intellectually (and maybe emotionally)  I have been wandering a woods by myself, finding trails made by others who I don't meet but still follow, making discovers with no one to talk to about, quiet moments where a simple, happy memory forms and finally weariness from at lot of walking. If you have never done so, I recommend packing a day bag and going to a Conservation Area near you and try walking a trail. 

2011? I guess it would be tie between Taarradhin “a way of resolving a problem without anyone losing face”(ie. everyone wins).or Meraki “to do something with soul, creativity, or love”. Taaradhin appeals to my romantic notion of the happy ending. That all the resolutions one makes at the beginning of the year are checked off, family & friends are happy, and enemies have changed their colours (Epic Win!).  There is a danger in it being too close to an obsession with perfection, but in reality its truth lies in compromise. I hope that at the end of 2011 my major "problems" have found a resolution to please all parties. Meraki is more basic desire, a hope that no matter what happens, I have done it with passion. I could live with either word.


One down, One to go.