In the tradition of ancient monastics, each year I ask for a word to ponder, a word that I will prayerfully focus my attention on for the new year. It may be something I hope for or an attribute I want to cultivate in my life, but always for the surprise of what it might teach me, lessons I did not know needed to be learned.
The new word does not replace the old one, but enfolds, envelops, and encompasses it, another revolution on the spiral of my spiritual journey. As I reflect on the last several Words of the Year, this is still my truth: I want to hold all of life fully (2024)—the bittersweet moments and the sweet surprises, with “eyes open to wonder (2023), holy surprises, and synchronicity.” I want to see the light (2025) in the darkness. I want to be the light in the darkness.
Reflecting on a very challenging year and the tragedies, trauma, and “presidential” tirades of the first few weeks of 2026, it is clear—we need a little more light, please. And so, I hold light, my 2025 word of the year, in my heart as comfort and guide in tumultuous times, as a reminder to shine, safeguard, and trust the Divine light, and to add the mantra “Let it Be”.
On a recent SoulFully You retreat I guided, we explored how the human experience is a dance between dark and light, and that there is always a little glimpse of the other. Barbara Brown Taylor writes, “Suffering comes from our reluctance to learn to walk in the dark… Blessing the day means accepting my full quota of light and of dark, even what I cannot see what I am blessing.”
How do we carry both darkness and light in our daily lives?
Fr. Thomas Keating, a Trappist monk, founding member of Contemplative Outreach, and an integral figure in the Christian contemplative prayer movement, suggests using the Welcoming Prayer, which has deep roots in the monasticism of the desert fathers and mothers.
Together, we practiced a Welcoming Prayer guided by David Benner, founder of Cascadia Living Wisdom. Step 1 in the process is Focus; Step 2 is Welcome; Step 3 is Let it Be—“Remember Jesus’ words in the garden of Gethsemane, ‘Not my will but thine be done’…or think of Mary, the mother of Jesus, as she responded to the annunciation. Let it be. This response is at the heart of Paul McCartney’s song called Let it Be.”
When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And in my hour of darkness, she is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
And when the brokenhearted people living in the world agree
There will be an answer, let it be
For though they may be parted, there is still a chance that they will see; there will be an answer, let it be
And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me
Shinin’ until tomorrow, let it be
I wake up to the sound of music, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
Songwriters: Paul McCartney / John Lennon Let It Be lyrics © Sony/atv Tunes Llc
And so let it be.
When the spiral of negative thinking begins, let it be. “I need sanctuary from the constant rerun of conversations and/or situations that have led to hurt feelings and a sense of rejection. I need sanctuary from the relentless inner conversations that distract me from living fully and hold me a prisoner in the role of victim… Over and again, I hear that I must be silent, to listen to the breath of God within me, to still the thoughts. And then, carry on (2020).”
When I feel an urgency to get beyond the discomfort of making a decision, let it be. “I shall allow myself the cushion (2018) of time needed to make any decision. There is no need to rush, to over-commit… I shall gently bump into the ever-so-soft cushion I have gifted myself as a reminder to listen to the ear of the heart.“
When I feel discomfort and think a problem needs to be solved right now, let it be. Not every decision needs to be made right away, and perhaps, by taking time to let it be, wisdom will be revealed.
When holding the tension of uncertainty, let it be. “I am free (2019) to make THIS decision, or I am free to make THAT decision. I am free to choose. It was the decision-making process that was binding me, making me a prisoner of my own thoughts. The freedom came from not being attached to any one possibility, reaction, outcome, person, or feeling. Accompanied by a stream of what ifs, fear had become the primary consideration in discerning what if I did THIS or what if I did THAT.“
When the hostility and anger of others seem too loud, let it be.
When I’m tempted to be snarky, let it be.
When I’m losing my shit, let it be.
When I’m tempted to fix things, like other people, their behaviors and emotions, let it be. “To consent (2022) sounds so passive—to give up or compromise, to settle. My nature is to resist what I do not prefer, to solve problems or change circumstances so that they are more ideal, and to somehow fix even what I cannot control. I have a tendency to fight, to flee, to figure out, rather than to consent, to surrender, to let it be.“
When I forget that the present moment is all there is, let it be.
When I get stuck in expectations or judgments, let it be.
When I react emotionally, let it be.
When I struggle with what is enough, let it be. “I am one who creates my own stress, anxiety, and overwhelm because I never know enough. Authentic knowing is not a spectrum of “knowing nothing” on one end and “knowing it all” on the other. I can let go of dualistic thinking and rest in the balance of enough.”
In The Holy Pause, Rev. Cameron Trimble writes that sacred waiting is not inaction, but depth; not stalling, but discerning. “It is the kind of waiting that births prophets. It is the kind of pause that roots us. It’s the inhale before the offering, the stillness that lets spirit speak. It asks us to wait not because we are lost or uncertain, but because something deeper is being gestated. Something real. Something wise.”
A Prayer for the Courage to Wait
Spirit of the Living Earth, teach me to wait with wisdom.
When the world spins with urgency, pull me back to the rhythm of roots.
Let me rest in the quiet without guilt or grasping.
When I ache to fix what is broken, remind me that presence is its own medicine.
When I cannot yet see the way, help me trust the dark womb of becoming.
May my waiting be holy. May it be active, listening, alive.
May I move not from fear, but from faith—not from reaction, but from reverence.
And when it is time to act, let my steps be sure, my heart be open,
and my hands be ready to shape the world with love.
Amen. (Written by Rev. Cameron Trimble)
By any name: Sacred waiting. Surrender. Breathe. Slow. Pause. Accept. Release. Consent. Wait. Trust. Faith. Let it be. May I be open to learn what Let it Be has to teach me in 2026. “Oh God, grant me the grace to live in the space between impulse and action. Amen.” –Contemplative Outreach
Do you have a word of the year? Do you have an image that you have paired with it? Please share in comments!
Being Benedictine 
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