Verve is a Verb

Welcome to my weblog. If you have stumbled across it by chance~ Welcome. Who knows why one starts writing a blog. For me, it is an attempt to put some structure to a rather chaotic life. The omnipotent "they" always say that if you put your intentions and dreams into writing, nature will support you achieve your goals. So, I guess that's what I am doing - putting my intention and desires into writing, hoping that my tiny voice is being heard at some level by that mysterious power that guides our spirit in its journey towards meaning.

I also wanted to create this weblog for my family and friends. As I travel the world, which is my passion and desire, I want to be able to keep an online journey to share my journey and lessons..my life as a verb. The turning point was 911. How did that change your life? I can't begin to say how it changed mine. It affected my husband so intensely that he decided that after 18 years, life would be richer and fuller without me. Devastating at the time, but now I feel a strong and vibrant positive release for us both.

So I move on, reinventing myself from absolute ground zero.

I absolutely love the word "verve". Vigor, Spirit, Style, denoting special talent in writing. I came across the word a few years ago for the first time when a very dear friend of mine attended the funeral of one of the nameless people who were on the flight that was turned into a weapon of attack against the Pentagon on September 11. This lady, who had worked for the National Geographic for years, was taking a group of young schoolchildren on a cultural trip. Just another one of those tragic stories that never surfaced to the level of press attention. Just another sad loss of a brave women and some little children. Anyway, I guess at her funeral, most of the Geographic staff were there, and one person got up and said "It's typical of Jane (not real name) that she would bow out this way in order not to have to deal with her 40th birthday!! She was a woman with passion and verve".

Verve. A word that is one I'd like to have read at my funeral. That along with compassion, gutsy, loving, passionate, classy, authentic, truthful and curious. Verve is actually defined by the dictionary as a noun, but I feel it is a verb. It is an action word that finds its expression in acting out the qualities it embodies....vigour, spirit and style. In my life so far, I have focused on being nouns...mother, wife, friend, worker, helper and now its time to start living like a VERB. The second half of my life, as I embark on my journey around the world will be one heavy on the action words, those descriptions of myself that tell something of my energy, enthusiasm and excitement about the vitality of the precious gift of life...not the static, bounded descriptions of what my inner organizer says a woman or wife or mother embodies. I am active. Free. I am like the wind. There is no moment that I am only a noun. I am a verb.

A new website www.exinthecity.com is my latest venture - helping women move from "EX" to EXtraordinary! as they redefine their lives after the breakup of a relationship. Share your journey ~ come visit!

Comments

[Dana]

I stoppped in here from the Typepad homepage. the title of your blog caught my eye. I hate to come in and "eavesdrop" so I wanted to say hello. I am sure I will be back. Such verve is hard to resist.

[Luke]

I was drawn to your declaration while searching for "passion for life". I admire your active commitment and intention to taste every moment every day. I've always believed love to be a verb and perhaps forgot that so is life, and they may be synonymous. Authenticity, reinvention - these are actions of creativity, a beautiful word descrbing our ability to generate dreams every moment of every day.
Be well.