As I set up my calendar for the month, I select a quote I’ve found that speaks to me. I write it in my planner and leave space below it to capture phrases I hear or read that speak to me and relate to the quote. I found this practice centers me throughout the month, and helps me be more present in my conversations, meetings, and readings. For January 2026, my quote was simply the word “vulnerable.”  

Like I do so often before I write, I lit a candle, fixed some hot tea, and exhaled a deep breath. The ritual felt more important today—no, more necessary. A little more soothing before I explained my word choice for the month. You see, vulnerable is not just for January, it’s my phrase for the year. Or rather, my intention. It arrived, unexpectedly, through the use of Kristen Lasanti’s Leadership Intention Workbook which is available on the landing page of her website. While I’ve intentions over the years – I use to pick them. Last year I used this reflective workbook which led me to “authentically helpful” which served me well through a complex year as a federal government consultant. But never did I see vulnerable coming … and well, I even feel vulnerable just saying my intention is vulnerable. Thirty days in, and the intention is starting to take shape. Awkwardly, yes. Mysteriously, yes. Meaningful, yes.

Here are the quotes, lyrics, and phrases that that caught the attention of my head and heart this month regarding “vulnerable”:

• Care never sleeps; care has been there all along, living at our center, and because of the way we are made, care will emerge in the end
• Think about the seeds we are planting in the cosmic soil
• My call—what sparks, what nags, what excites, what yells, what bellows, what beckons?
• What seems crazy, is always to begin with, just our inner unrecognized, creative edge meeting our surprised surface life
• The temptation is to trade unpredictable wildness for the safety of mediocrity, but the brave thing to do is let a little wildness have its way with us, to see where it takes us
• No mud, no lotus
• We are never too old to be young at heart
• Or like the moon light on the whitest sand, to use your dark to gleam, to shimmer
• Allow myself to linger in this place where I know myself as your beloved
• Challenging to trust the unfolding
• We can put seeds in the wounds
• In situations of instability, look for the possibilities
• I pray that amidst the heartbreak of your labyrinth of grief you will find a place and a still moment where you are blessed
• What’s the invitation?
• Would you be interested in reimaging our life?
• I would love to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding
• Clearly something is stirring that is beyond my experience and comprehension
• It’s only the journey that brings the traveler home
• There are more doors in the dark than you can imagine
• Wait for it, still yourself, stay

When I write my monthly quote blog, I go through the same steps. Opening centering ritual. Type out the quotes that I collected that month in the order in which I found them – the last quote noticed just 3 days ago. Then I write the open, re-read the quotes, and write the rest. I don’t really edit my words… I accept what arose as I wrote, look for typos, and am done. All in, writing a blog – from words to photo selection to posting – takes about 1 hour.

I don’t come in with a plan, theme or purpose. I let it arise in the moment. I share my process because the first and last quotes this month—from “care will emerge in the end” to “wait for it, still yourself, stay”—felt like book ends for my first month practicing vulnerable.

Those who know me professionally, have heard me say “words matter.” Over and over and over again. My work as a strategic communicator (e.g., public relations, video production, speeches, media, online content) relies on me finding the precise word to explain a complex system, frame an issue, or inspire a workforce. I believe words and images, backed by data, can change the world. So, I choose them carefully.

So, to see vulnerable pop into my workbook I didn’t like it as its primary definition is someone who is “capable of being easily hurt or harmed physically, mentally, or emotionally… being defenseless or susceptible, needing protection” and stems from the Latin word vulnus which means “wound.” This was not what I wanted for the next 365 days.

But words have layers… and so I explore my intention some more.

I read that vulnerable is the birthplace of courage, connection, and authenticity, though it requires risk and exposure. Another description explained that vulnerability is about having the strength to be seen, share feelings, and embrace uncertainty, which builds resilience and empathy despite the potential for hurt.

Vulnerable brings about courage, resilience, and empathy: “care will emerge in the end”..…“wait for it, still yourself, stay.”

So now I practice and see “the surprise of its own unfolding.”