hellO lOvely and creative sOuls!

As the new year marches On, I hOpe yOu are happy, safe, warm and healthy. Here in the Southwest, I can say I have 3 out of four of those going for me, and I’m feeling very grateful for every sunshiny day that comes our way!

Last December, I decided to choose a “wOrd Of the year” (wOty) to help me stay focused, creative and engaged with life.  With that in mind, if you haven’t guessed already, my 2014 wOty is enOugh. 

Depending on how it is used, enOugh can mean:

• As much as required,
• adequately,
• fairly, or
• impatient desire.

I chose to begin my exploration by asking some tough questions. In our culture, families and churches, we are bombarded with the message that enough is never enough, so it was (and still is) a bit rattling to ask –

Is there enough? Do I have enough? Am I enough?

If that wasn’t scary enOugh, my health began deteriorating in early January. Much to my dismay, no matter what I did or didn’t do, the extreme fatigue, headaches and nausea came flooding back. It left me screaming, enOugh, already! How much more of this can I take? Will it ever end? A new (very loud) question now arose –

When is enough, enough? 

As the second week of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics begin, I am so struck by the depth and rawness of the personal stories behind the Games. The years and years of hard work, the sacrifices, loss, injuries and disappointments the athletes and their families experience take my breath away. The stories are made even more poignant when the outcome is not the gold medal, or for many athletes, including the Americans at these games, no medal at all.

The truth is, none of us make it through this life without heartbreak and gut-wrenching loss. And even though we don’t win any medals for choosing to survive and carry on, we sure do deserve them. Life leaves many of us, including the amazing and gifted Olympians, asking, “Am I enough“? And isn’t that heartbreaking enOugh, knowing how hard each one of us has worked to live a good life and earn our “gold medals”?

So, as I make plans to get myself into the Mayo Clinic for a consultation to finally determine what I’m battling, I am learning that:

• I am strong enOugh to keep going.
• I am strong enOugh to keep asking the hard questions.
• I am brave enOugh to hear the answers.
• Life is hard enOugh without trying to prove I am enOugh.
• I’m the only one who has to believe I am enOugh.
• There is enOugh love for all of us.

May you feel the love that surrounds you,

and know that you are truly enough.

Be gentle. Be brave. Be true.

lOve, vickiO

This post is dedicated to John Berg, an amazing and loving man, who inspired me to be a better person and enjoy life as it comes. Thank you for loving me and showing me there is always enough. You will be missed but never forgotten.