Your pictures, as always, are beautiful and I really enjoyed your essay. I learned a lot about vulnerability in 2024. I was hospitalized in August for 9 days…talk about feeling vulnerable. I also learned a great deal about kindness, and grace. It was quite a year.
I'm pleased to find another 'word of the year' person! And I very much enjoyed your journey with your usual gorgeous photos. Birdies! 💯 Connect and Trust are so good, makes me want to change mine, which are Play and Wonder (and then after doing an online yoga class, I realized I needed to add another one - Rest).
When it comes to Vulnerability, I think you must be successful at it because of the way you're putting yourself out there. I believe you can't be a good writer or creative, without it. The opposite of vulnerability could be Boundaries. And as far as Trust and Connection, I feel the balancing act of the two lie within building both inner and outer trust and connection. xo
Oh I LOVE Play, Wonder, and REST! Great words!! They go together so well with Trust and Connection, because when we connect deeply in trust it's easier to play, wonder and rest. Thank you Lani, for this lovely reflection!
Wonderful post Karen. And with so many excellent comments, too! I was interested in your remark thinking about vulnerability where you said, " It’s funny how I remember, forget, remember, forget, and remember again. It’s funny how my subconscious remembered this word before my conscious mind did." You reminded me of Alan Watt's book 'In My Own Way' where he talks of the double entendre of that phase ..in my own way. As it happens, I have been working with allowing my subconscious or unconscious mind have a free hand in a few situations where I can watch what it knows and does without the slightest help of my conscious mind. In fact I have shown myself that my conscious mind often gets in the way of what my unconscious mind was doing just fine! One easy place to watch this, is putting together jigsaw puzzles. Admittedly I like doing jigsaws, so if they are not your cup of tea, no worries, there are lots of other way to watch your subconscious at work. I can put most of an online jigsaw puzzle together rather quickly with very little thinking by my conscious mind. I sort of sit back and watch it happen. It is almost like the Ouija experience, if you have ever worked with one of them. At any rate, I highly recommend giving some respect to one's subconscious/unconscious mind. I think some people allow their unconscious mind to write freely in their journals. I have never developed the habit of a diary or regular journal entries, but I can appreciate that it could be worth while!
Oh I 100% think I get in my own way all. the. time. I do have some practices where I let my intuition/subconscious/guides lead, especially when I'm out with my camera, but I really want to do it in more of my life. I can totally understand that with puzzles!
Your post this morning is pure gold, Karen. 24K. The instances and images of floating feathers, the sun’s presence, and many of your bird-friends offered opportunities for present moment grounding-an anchor that keeps me from drifting off like one wind blown feather!
As I read, and with the benefit of your looking back even to pre-Covid days, what you shared felt like a heart and soul energized CAT scan! A clear-eyed evaluation of where you’ve been and up to where you are today. As you so well demonstrate we are works in progress. A status I hope to maintain in the years ahead.
You encouraged the reader to offer their own sense of balancing qualities for steps in our journeys forward. Here are mine. (I noticed some other reader’s citing ones I’ll offer)
a. Connection - maintaining personal boundaries
b. Trust - discernment
c. Vulnerability - being grounded
As January winter settles down on many parts of the Country, stay warm, don’t hesitate to add another quilt or comforter, and smile as you see how your journey has unfolded.
Very interesting. I think grounding and boundaries are interesting. I could see them being balancing factors for vulnerability and connection. Thank you for this thoughtful response!! I do think - hope anyway - that we are always a work in progress.
Beautiful images, Karen. I love the way the Blue Jay seems to be eyeing the row of Robins somewhat suspiciously. They do have the numbers!
The words I am working on right now are 'present moment.' Goes well with right now. I am trying to focus on and appreciate the 'present moment' as best I can. A walk in Nature works best for me to keep these two words in mind.
Thank you for this wonderful sharing today. Grace has been my inspiration word for awhile now ~ allowing Grace and to give Grace to myself when I feel I’ve failed or fallen back into old ways/habits. Releasing my ‘worrying thoughts’ over others ~ so trust is needed. Trusting they will find their own way & see that grace can also bless them on their journeys.
I stumbled on this chant & found a YouTube video by Deepac Chopra leading a meditation practice on it. Sat Chit Ananda. Existence, Consciousness, Bliss. And as Deepac says self love is the way to bliss. Then we love everything & everyone we come in contact with.
It’s a start, I’m certainly not there yet.
I suppose it’s an ongoing unfolding & journey ~ blessings & thank you.
What comes up for me is SURRENDER...that is to surrender whole-heartedly and not with any conditions. I recently read that to surrender is to be with everything that happens as if it is precisely what you had asked for...wow, pretty difficult for me. I am working on it.
As you already know, my word for 2025 is EQUANIMITY -- balance and evenness of mind, even under stress and without aversion. The opposite of extremism or overreaction. As to your question about opposites, here are my takes: Connection (relationship) might need balancing independence. Too much connection might result in over-dependence or co-dependence; too much independence might result in isolation or arrogance. Interdependence sounds to me like a healthy BALANCE of the two. Trust, for me, is less the opposite of doubt as of suspicion or even paranoia. Balance of the two might be discernment (wise questioning) or beginner's mind before prejudgment or irrational fear can set in. Which leads to vulnerability and that gets a little dicey -- a two-sided coin. I looked up antonyms for it and among them was one of your previous words, resiliency, which seems to counteract the vulnerability that occurs from being too rigid. Like a tree that can't bend in the wind. But in a more medical sense, invulnerability is to be guarded, protected, shielded from harm or attack; immune or incapable of being wounded in a healthy way, as with a vaccination. But as Leonard Cohen said, it's at the cracks that the light gets in, at least with emotional and relational vulnerability. I do love how you approach your Self and your life as a journey and work in progress. Wishing you every good thing as you move into 2025 and our mutual "balancing act." :-) Stay safe and warm until the ice melts.
Interesting. My dad once said to me, "we wanted you girls to be independent - we might have overdone it!" I wonder if some part of me fears giving up independence to connection, that will be interesting to ponder! Thank you Lauren, this is great food for thought!
Thank you for your lovely article (as usual). I wonder if the opposite word for vulnerability is discernment. Trusting & being vulnerable with the wrong person has led to me feeling punched in the gut when they reacted insensitively. My learning is that there is a real reason that so many of us are so defended & don't want to be vulnerable - There are people we should be vulnerable with AND people we shouldn't. You don't expose your vulnerable bits to people who will invalidate or discount you (often your deepest pain) in the name of being trusting. You trust yourself to take care of yourself and choose who to be vulnerable with, instead of throwing your soft self against a rock.
A word that I often associate with vulnerability is courage. A vulnerable heart is a brave heart. These twinned aspects of my heart were encouraged, shaped, and illuminated by the music of Ferron…. Every one of her albums offers several rich and wise treasures; the anthology “Impressionistic” is a decent place to start. Or this song, Girl on a Road: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7C5LuYhXE4
Very thought provoking….as I wake up this morning and look at the weather app and see the monster snowstorm that you are experiencing…ice/sleet then the snow…praying you all will be okay…especially your Dad🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏….thankful I moved south and don’t have to shovel snow anymore and live close to my daughters when I do need help with something….. it’s like a metaphor feeling vulnerable in the weather but trusting that all will be okay soon…I find life easy in retirement and I’m so thankful ❤️👍🙏
Yeah - eek, I was writing this as I was watching the forecasts! We did get a sheet of ice last night, but not as much as I feared. We have gotten a lot of snow and we've had thunder snow this morning. My dad's power has been in and out, very thankful he has a generator. I worry about him going out to clear that driveway, I'm hoping some enterprising youngsters come along and maybe he pays them to do it, but he probably won't. My HOA should do it, hopefully they don't do it too soon and leave much left over. But that ice underneath.
I'm glad you find life easy in retirement! I would like to be able to relax into the unknown but instead I tied myself up in little stress balls. It's a work in progress!
Yes I used to do the stress ball things…especially after the divorce…so I get it…life seems easier now for me…hope you find your calm in the midst of the stress and thinking if you all in this monster snowstorm….we are having crazy wild wind and started at 60 degrees but it’s falling…at 43 now with 20’s overnight and 30’s for the highs all this week
Your pictures, as always, are beautiful and I really enjoyed your essay. I learned a lot about vulnerability in 2024. I was hospitalized in August for 9 days…talk about feeling vulnerable. I also learned a great deal about kindness, and grace. It was quite a year.
Oh, yes, I can imagine. And I love that the other lessons went with it. Thank you Jennie.
Beautiful Karen. Words and images to sink into and rest...
Thank you Ken
I'm pleased to find another 'word of the year' person! And I very much enjoyed your journey with your usual gorgeous photos. Birdies! 💯 Connect and Trust are so good, makes me want to change mine, which are Play and Wonder (and then after doing an online yoga class, I realized I needed to add another one - Rest).
When it comes to Vulnerability, I think you must be successful at it because of the way you're putting yourself out there. I believe you can't be a good writer or creative, without it. The opposite of vulnerability could be Boundaries. And as far as Trust and Connection, I feel the balancing act of the two lie within building both inner and outer trust and connection. xo
Oh I LOVE Play, Wonder, and REST! Great words!! They go together so well with Trust and Connection, because when we connect deeply in trust it's easier to play, wonder and rest. Thank you Lani, for this lovely reflection!
You are a real blessing~ love you💕wish I could write more. In a flare
Thank you Catherine! May your flare ease quickly. Much love.
Wonderful post Karen. And with so many excellent comments, too! I was interested in your remark thinking about vulnerability where you said, " It’s funny how I remember, forget, remember, forget, and remember again. It’s funny how my subconscious remembered this word before my conscious mind did." You reminded me of Alan Watt's book 'In My Own Way' where he talks of the double entendre of that phase ..in my own way. As it happens, I have been working with allowing my subconscious or unconscious mind have a free hand in a few situations where I can watch what it knows and does without the slightest help of my conscious mind. In fact I have shown myself that my conscious mind often gets in the way of what my unconscious mind was doing just fine! One easy place to watch this, is putting together jigsaw puzzles. Admittedly I like doing jigsaws, so if they are not your cup of tea, no worries, there are lots of other way to watch your subconscious at work. I can put most of an online jigsaw puzzle together rather quickly with very little thinking by my conscious mind. I sort of sit back and watch it happen. It is almost like the Ouija experience, if you have ever worked with one of them. At any rate, I highly recommend giving some respect to one's subconscious/unconscious mind. I think some people allow their unconscious mind to write freely in their journals. I have never developed the habit of a diary or regular journal entries, but I can appreciate that it could be worth while!
Oh I 100% think I get in my own way all. the. time. I do have some practices where I let my intuition/subconscious/guides lead, especially when I'm out with my camera, but I really want to do it in more of my life. I can totally understand that with puzzles!
Your post this morning is pure gold, Karen. 24K. The instances and images of floating feathers, the sun’s presence, and many of your bird-friends offered opportunities for present moment grounding-an anchor that keeps me from drifting off like one wind blown feather!
As I read, and with the benefit of your looking back even to pre-Covid days, what you shared felt like a heart and soul energized CAT scan! A clear-eyed evaluation of where you’ve been and up to where you are today. As you so well demonstrate we are works in progress. A status I hope to maintain in the years ahead.
You encouraged the reader to offer their own sense of balancing qualities for steps in our journeys forward. Here are mine. (I noticed some other reader’s citing ones I’ll offer)
a. Connection - maintaining personal boundaries
b. Trust - discernment
c. Vulnerability - being grounded
As January winter settles down on many parts of the Country, stay warm, don’t hesitate to add another quilt or comforter, and smile as you see how your journey has unfolded.
Very interesting. I think grounding and boundaries are interesting. I could see them being balancing factors for vulnerability and connection. Thank you for this thoughtful response!! I do think - hope anyway - that we are always a work in progress.
Vulnerability is my opportunity to serve the purpose at hand.
Be it for myself, or more often, for others.
When offered with Love, the results are quite often very positive.
I feel this is the fuel that feeds the collective environment that we all exist in.
Each of us are contributing to guide our existence on so many levels. Many levels we are unaware of or have yet to understand.
Thank you for sharing your adventures in investigating yourself and your results.
Your contributions fuel many people to investigate themselves.
Your contributions are a huge vulnerability that you share with Love.
The results are hugely positive.
Good on you, and thank you very much.
Thank you Doug. I'm going to ponder that!
Karen, as always these are beautiful. What part of the country do you live in. The images remind me of Michigan. D
Thank you Dave! I'm in Kansas City.
The subconscious is always giving to us.
LOVE the photo of the flicker as your request--it made me laugh (with recognition). Oh yes.
Karen, you are a gift--your generosity is in every post. Thank you.
Thank you Alison!
Beautiful images, Karen. I love the way the Blue Jay seems to be eyeing the row of Robins somewhat suspiciously. They do have the numbers!
The words I am working on right now are 'present moment.' Goes well with right now. I am trying to focus on and appreciate the 'present moment' as best I can. A walk in Nature works best for me to keep these two words in mind.
Thank you Neil! That was a brave jay for sure. Present Moment is a great phrase to work with.
Thank you for this wonderful sharing today. Grace has been my inspiration word for awhile now ~ allowing Grace and to give Grace to myself when I feel I’ve failed or fallen back into old ways/habits. Releasing my ‘worrying thoughts’ over others ~ so trust is needed. Trusting they will find their own way & see that grace can also bless them on their journeys.
I stumbled on this chant & found a YouTube video by Deepac Chopra leading a meditation practice on it. Sat Chit Ananda. Existence, Consciousness, Bliss. And as Deepac says self love is the way to bliss. Then we love everything & everyone we come in contact with.
It’s a start, I’m certainly not there yet.
I suppose it’s an ongoing unfolding & journey ~ blessings & thank you.
Thank you Jo. I love allowing Grace as an addition to giving Grace!
What comes up for me is SURRENDER...that is to surrender whole-heartedly and not with any conditions. I recently read that to surrender is to be with everything that happens as if it is precisely what you had asked for...wow, pretty difficult for me. I am working on it.
Surrender is a hard one. I've had that word pop up so many times. Whew. Good one to keep working with. Trust and surrender are hand in hand.
Yes, hard to truly surrender unless you trust...trust in Oneself and trust in the Universe, whatever that means
As you already know, my word for 2025 is EQUANIMITY -- balance and evenness of mind, even under stress and without aversion. The opposite of extremism or overreaction. As to your question about opposites, here are my takes: Connection (relationship) might need balancing independence. Too much connection might result in over-dependence or co-dependence; too much independence might result in isolation or arrogance. Interdependence sounds to me like a healthy BALANCE of the two. Trust, for me, is less the opposite of doubt as of suspicion or even paranoia. Balance of the two might be discernment (wise questioning) or beginner's mind before prejudgment or irrational fear can set in. Which leads to vulnerability and that gets a little dicey -- a two-sided coin. I looked up antonyms for it and among them was one of your previous words, resiliency, which seems to counteract the vulnerability that occurs from being too rigid. Like a tree that can't bend in the wind. But in a more medical sense, invulnerability is to be guarded, protected, shielded from harm or attack; immune or incapable of being wounded in a healthy way, as with a vaccination. But as Leonard Cohen said, it's at the cracks that the light gets in, at least with emotional and relational vulnerability. I do love how you approach your Self and your life as a journey and work in progress. Wishing you every good thing as you move into 2025 and our mutual "balancing act." :-) Stay safe and warm until the ice melts.
Interesting. My dad once said to me, "we wanted you girls to be independent - we might have overdone it!" I wonder if some part of me fears giving up independence to connection, that will be interesting to ponder! Thank you Lauren, this is great food for thought!
Thank you for your lovely article (as usual). I wonder if the opposite word for vulnerability is discernment. Trusting & being vulnerable with the wrong person has led to me feeling punched in the gut when they reacted insensitively. My learning is that there is a real reason that so many of us are so defended & don't want to be vulnerable - There are people we should be vulnerable with AND people we shouldn't. You don't expose your vulnerable bits to people who will invalidate or discount you (often your deepest pain) in the name of being trusting. You trust yourself to take care of yourself and choose who to be vulnerable with, instead of throwing your soft self against a rock.
Thank you Rita, this is helpful and interesting to ponder!
A word that I often associate with vulnerability is courage. A vulnerable heart is a brave heart. These twinned aspects of my heart were encouraged, shaped, and illuminated by the music of Ferron…. Every one of her albums offers several rich and wise treasures; the anthology “Impressionistic” is a decent place to start. Or this song, Girl on a Road: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7C5LuYhXE4
Thank you Jim, I'm going to listen to that!
Very thought provoking….as I wake up this morning and look at the weather app and see the monster snowstorm that you are experiencing…ice/sleet then the snow…praying you all will be okay…especially your Dad🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏….thankful I moved south and don’t have to shovel snow anymore and live close to my daughters when I do need help with something….. it’s like a metaphor feeling vulnerable in the weather but trusting that all will be okay soon…I find life easy in retirement and I’m so thankful ❤️👍🙏
Yeah - eek, I was writing this as I was watching the forecasts! We did get a sheet of ice last night, but not as much as I feared. We have gotten a lot of snow and we've had thunder snow this morning. My dad's power has been in and out, very thankful he has a generator. I worry about him going out to clear that driveway, I'm hoping some enterprising youngsters come along and maybe he pays them to do it, but he probably won't. My HOA should do it, hopefully they don't do it too soon and leave much left over. But that ice underneath.
I'm glad you find life easy in retirement! I would like to be able to relax into the unknown but instead I tied myself up in little stress balls. It's a work in progress!
Yes I used to do the stress ball things…especially after the divorce…so I get it…life seems easier now for me…hope you find your calm in the midst of the stress and thinking if you all in this monster snowstorm….we are having crazy wild wind and started at 60 degrees but it’s falling…at 43 now with 20’s overnight and 30’s for the highs all this week
I'm so glad to hear that you've found a way to smooth it out!! Love that so much.