A Day of Remembrance

Today many in the U.S. celebrated the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by attending various events or by offering a service to their communities. What a fitting tribute to a man who died in service to others - to give of oneself for the betterment of others.

I unfortunately took today to reflect on myself and try to get my "house" in order so that I might be a better servant. This year I have started a new practice of choosing a single word to lead my life. This started as a plan to infuse some life into my creative endeavors and my work on "Plan B" but is involving into a life plan.

A day of remembrance and reflection in front of the fire.

The warm glow of a fire.

My chosen word is focus and according to Merriam-Webster this is what it means:

fo·cused also fo·cussed fo·cus·ing also fo·cus·singDefinition of FOCUS
transitive verb
1a : to bring into focusb : to adjust the focus of (as the eye or a lens)
2: to cause to be concentrated <focused their attention on the most urgent problems>
3: to bring (as light rays) to a focus : concentrate
intransitive verb
1: to come to a focus : converge
2: to adjust one's eye or a camera to a particular range
3: to concentrate attention or effort
— fo·cus·able adjective
— fo·cus·er noun
 See focus defined for English-language learners »
Examples of FOCUS

1. She has an amazing ability to focus for hours at a time.

1. I wasn't able to focus the camera.

1. I wasn't able to get the camera to focus.

First Known Use of FOCUS
1775
Related to FOCUS
Synonyms: center, fasten, concentrate, rivet, train

As I take my journey with this word I will use it as an intransitive verb, most specifically it is my goal this year to concentrate attention or effort on being a better me in 2012. This means in a nutshell that I plan to look inside and make the changes I need in order to have a positive effect on my personal, professional and creative lives. 

So today I worked on my plans for improvement this year, because Dr. King had a dream that he worked hard for and gave the ultimate sacrifice for; therefore it is only fitting that I work hard on my dreams while remembering him.