Hm-m, my OLW is a good one!

        Thanks go to  the Two Writing Teachers blog, to Ruth and Stacey for hosting Tuesday Slices of Life, a way for others to share parts of their lives, personal and professional. Come join in the fun!

      After reading everyone’s posts last week, I thought more and listened to others, not just noting their One Little Words, but the “why” of them.  The arc of my life is not the usual geometric half-circle, but more similar to a roller coaster, numerous ups and downs, and the downs are not necessarily bad, they can sometimes mean quiet and rest.  And the ups might be excitement and incredible experiences, or they might just mean hurry, much on the to do list.  So, I thought that I might choose the word “flexible”, yet I know that I am, I was, I will be.  That is a trait already ingrained, not a word to live by.  Finally, I pondered the beginnings, the new year, the new home and knew that my word for this year must be “possibilities”.  Think of it! 

      A stereotype is about endless possibilities.  The metaphor is often the open door.  I imagine something like Dorothy stepping into Oz.    The synonyms according to an online dictionary are:  capability, eventuality, potential, and prospect. 

      Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi said: Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning. 

       Emily Dickinson wrote: I dwell in possibility. 

       And Gloria Steinem said:  Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all is a form of planning.

      The definition I prefer and given by the online dictionary to be archaic is  one’s utmost power, capacity or ability.  I like challenges and this seems to be a challenge.  And so I’m off, to the races, to the store, to the library, to conferences, and to those always endless possibilities.

photo credit: Bud the Teacher via photopin cc