The Word That Chose Me

2026: The Year Contentment Chose Me

For the past few years, I choose a word.

Or at least, I think I do.

I have found it to be an extremely powerful process for me, as it creates a beautiful reminder to connect back to the present moment.

I was certain this year would be Joy.

Then it was Ease.

Then Now.

Then Simplicity.

Then Joy again.

Then Now.

And then—Contentment.

For years, I’ve participated in Laura Ramirez, LLC’s One Word Workshop, a yearly ritual that gently but powerfully invites reflection beyond the intellect. Laura’s process isn’t about forcing clarity or picking a word that sounds aspirational. It’s about listening—deeply—to intuition, allowing the body and inner wisdom to guide what the soul actually needs for the year ahead.

In past years, my words have been Support, Pause, and Movement. Each one met me exactly where I was—sometimes immediately, sometimes revealing its meaning slowly over time. That’s the beauty of the process. The word doesn’t demand understanding upfront. It unfolds through lived experience.

I haven’t yet attended this year’s workshop. And maybe when I do, Contentment will rise again.

Or maybe it won’t.

Either way feels right.

Because what I’ve learned through Laura’s work is this: the power isn’t in deciding the word—it’s in allowing it. When we soften our grip and listen, the word often finds us before we fully understand why.

That same truth showed up for me on Star Sunday at a Service I went to in my town.

I didn’t plan to attend church that morning. There was no intention or expectation. I was simply called—quietly but clearly—to go. During the service, words were placed inside a small bucket, each written on a star facing downward, unseen. You either intuitively—or seemingly randomly—selected one.

Unlike the One Word Workshop, it’s a bit more random.

Two different processes.

One structured and guided.

One spontaneous and unexpected.

Both work alongside the same principles of imprinting experiential meaning.

Both bypass the analytical mind.

Both engage the subconscious.

Both allow for trust that something deeper than logic knows what we need.

I wavered when the word appeared. I resisted it, the way you do when you’re cheering for two fantasy football teams at once.

My word is supposed to be Joy, I kept telling myself.

And then the tears came.

The kind that don’t come from sadness, but from recognition. Gratitude is where most of my tears come from—the kind that arrive when something true lands gently and deeply.

Maybe a bit too much information or openness, but when I connect with something deeply, I fill with gratitude.

Joy and Contentment: Not Opposites, but Partners

For a long time, joy felt like the goal.

Joy is expansive. Alive. Energizing. It shows up in moments—the lift in the chest, the unexpected laugh, the tear sparked by beauty rather than pain.

But what I’m learning is that joy does not live well without contentment.

From a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) perspective, a perspective I lean towards, joy is housed in the Heart. When Heart Qi (energy) is balanced, joy flows naturally. But without grounding, regulation, and internal safety, joy becomes fleeting—something we chase rather than something we inhabit.

Contentment steadies joy.

From a TNW perspective, joy is a state and contentment is a foundation.

• Joy visits

• Contentment remains

Joy enlivens.

Contentment sustains.

Contentment doesn’t dull joy—it creates the conditions for joy to stay. When the nervous system feels safe and the body is at ease, joy arises naturally, often quietly, without force.

This is why contentment doesn’t replace joy.

It arrives in service to it.

What Is Contentment?

Contentment is a sustained inner state of ease, presence, and sufficiency that is not dependent on external outcomes.

It is not complacency.

It is not passivity.

It is not resignation.

Contentment is the ability to be at peace with what is, while remaining open to growth, healing, and aligned change.

From a TCM perspective, contentment arises when Qi flows freely, the Heart is settled, and the Shen (spirit) feels housed and nourished.

From a TNW perspective, contentment is the felt experience of living in integrity with one’s inner nature—mind, body, breath, energy, and purpose moving in coherence. I’m hoping this isn’t too technical of an explanation, but let’s just say this is the word that feels just right for me for me this year.

So, this is where the work becomes personal.

The Embodiment of Contentment

Contentment is not something I’ve embodied easily.

I tend to live “on.”

On task.

On mission.

On growth.

On Responsibilities.

I sometimes lack boundaries - which often empties my cup of joy.

I’m very much motivated by learning, change, and expansion. And yet, I often have to be reminded—to pause, to be here now, to stop striving for the next thing long enough to feel what already exists. Most of my practices create opportunities to do so.

There is an internal tension I continually navigate:

• the desire to grow, evolve, and learn

• and the invitation to rest, to be content with whatever situation I find myself in

I guess this surfaces another important word for me: Balance.

A constant reminder. This tension isn’t a flaw. It’s a rhythm of always coming back to “Center.”

At times I think contentment, joy, peace…is a plea or a cop out. It’s not.

Contentment isn’t asking me to stop growing.

It’s asking me to arrive before I move on.

It’s asking me to let rest be part of the process, not something earned at the end of it.

The Roots of Contentment

Contentment grows when its roots are nourished beneath the surface.

Presence anchors us in now, settling the Heart and calming the mind.

Safety in the body allows the nervous system to shift out of survival and into ease.

Emotional honesty frees stagnant Qi (how energy creates dis-ease) and prevents peace from becoming performative.

When these roots are supported, contentment doesn’t have to be forced—it arises naturally.

The Seeds and the Path

Gratitude without bypassing.

Purpose aligned with energy rather than expectation.

Compassion toward self and others.

And along the way, we meet the obstacles:

comparison, unprocessed grief, and over-identification with productivity.

None of these are failures.

They are invitations to soften, listen, and recalibrate.

Contentment as a Living State

Contentment is not a destination.

It is a practice of returning. There are many ways to return back to ourselves.

So where do we start?

• the body

• the breath

• the present moment

• Perspective- the truth of what is - momentarily clearing the mind of tasks and to-do’s

When the roots are nourished, the seeds are tended, and the obstacles are met with awareness rather than resistance, contentment arises quietly and steadily—without force.

Contentment is not found.

It is remembered.

And perhaps that is the deeper gift of both Laura’s One Word Workshop and Star Sunday: when we stop trying to decide who we should be, and instead listen, the word—and the way forward often chooses us.