by Julie Fredrick

Last year, I posted a blog asking “what is your word for 2009?”  I got a lot of great responses, both on the blog and on my Facebook page. My word was “spirit." I liked the word, its meaning and the inspiration it conjured up inside of me. Of course, last year was a milestone for me, it brought my 50th birthday and lots of inner revelations, some good, some not so good. 

For 2010, the start of not just another year but another decade, I’ve decided to make my word “outside."

For me, the word outside conjures up many thoughts. First and foremost is nature, be it a a city park, my urban patio, the beach or the mountains. Ever since I was a tomboy growing up in rural eastern Kentucky, surrounded by the Appalachian Mountains, I was happiest when I was outside in the fresh air playing with my dogs or my friends.

Sally and I regularly hiked the old abandoned mining road behind our houses to sit atop of a cliff that overlooked the pasture. That is now a shopping center.  

Lawson and I rode my motorcycle with joyful abandon between neighborhoods, and I often took my pony for solitary rides throughout Pine Mountain.

Now, however, the word means more to me. It means thinking outside the box. It represents a chance to move outside my comfort zone and forge ahead into the unknown.

There comes a time in one’s life when certain routines, certain relationships, certain beliefs become stale and hold us back.  Some people have driven into a rut on the highway of life and fear the probable bumps along the way of getting out. More may simply not know how to navigate the twists and turns. Others see it as “safe” to stay the course and not mix things up.

I regularly talk to people about life choices, and am saddened to hear of those who hate their job, or dislike their partner, their city, their circumstances. Maybe they are bored with life, or frightened of the unknown. Whatever. This year I plan to take a step or two outside of my comfort zone and see what life brings.

So, that is my word for 2010. Outside. I like it. It’s fresh.   Give it some thought and tell us what your word is for 2010.

Julie Fredrick blogs at JulesRules: Explorations in travel, food and life.

Follow Julie on Twitter: twitter.com/julesfredrick