Content and balance

Over the past two days, I have made two pages in my art journals. These are the first two since I went on vacation. They're both following prompts about the New Year. One asks what our One Little Word we will focus on for the year is. A lot of scrapbookers do this, last year my word was supposed to have been dream, but turned out to be believe. I am participating in the art journaling prompts from three websites (Two Peas in A Bucket, Daisy Yellow and A Year int he Life of An Art Journal), and I think all three prompted us to do pages about our One Little Word, although in the latter's case, it was actually a prompt posted in early 2012.

In 2013, I believe my word will be "content" the title of my first page. A member of  Daisy Yellow's Facebook Group, where I have previously shared this, has reminded me the word could have multiple meanings. The first one Webster's lists means "satisfied" and that is the meaning I had intended to focus on this year. But one of several other meanings is "topic addressed in a written work." In this sense, it has historically been used as a plural, usually in the phrase "Table of Contents." But while Webster's does not count this as a meaning yet, I believe "content" is now also a word we can use to describe the written work itself, as in "Web content." My new online friend chose to focus on that meaning in her comment about my work on Facebook. And that is interesting, because she doesn't know what most of you followers do - that I am a writer by profession. I have been a newspaper journalist and a public relations specialist in the past, but I could be a professional Web content writer if  either one of two things happened - either this blog somehow paid me at least 2 cents, or if all of my vast writing experience somehow causes me to get at least a freelance writing gig sometime soon. But until I find that - or even a job that does not involve writing - I will have to be content.

Which brings us to balanced. This page here actually combines two art journal prompts, one from Two Peas,which specifically asks us to journal about  finding balance in our lives, and the other being A Year In the Life of An Art Journal's last prompt of 2012, which asks what we are most looking forward to in 2013. In my quest for contentment, my life will become more balanced in 2013. There is a lot more I could say about that, but most of it is very personal. Let's just say though that I know this year I will become more assertive when someone makes demands on my finances and on my time, because 2013 will be a very difficult year if I don't become more assertive about this.So this new assertiveness, which will bring balance to my life, is what I am looking forward to most.