2025 Three Words – Align, Community, and Hope
Align, Community, and Hope: My Words for 2025
It is time to pick my 2025 three words. As one year ends and another begins, I look for clarity in simplicity. For me, this means choosing three guiding words instead of setting resolutions. These words act as touchstones, shaping my focus, actions, and mindset throughout the year.
For 2025, I’ve chosen Align, Community, and Hope—three words deeply connected to the challenges and possibilities of this moment. Together, they reflect my desire to create harmony, nurture connection, and carry optimism into a world that often feels hopeless, dark, and uncertain.
The Journey to These Words
Choosing my words is never a rushed or random process. It begins with reflection—on where I’ve been, where I am, and where I want to grow. For 2025, I started with a list of about 30 words, each representing something I felt could be meaningful for the year ahead. Words like Empower, Enrich, Flow, Radiate, and Transform stood out as possibilities, each carrying its own weight and significance.
As I sat with these words, I kept returning to three that felt interconnected and deeply resonant: Align, Community, and Hope. These words didn’t just reflect who I want to be—they called me to step into unfamiliar territory and embrace both challenges and opportunities.
Another word, Pie, was also a strong contender. While it didn’t make the final trio, it holds a special place as an honorable mention. It reminds me to savor the sweetness of life and find joy in the present moment.
What These Words Mean to Me
Align
Align is about finding harmony and purpose in my actions. Life often feels like a balancing act, pulling me in many directions. This word challenges me to assess whether my choices reflect my values and whether my daily actions align with my larger goals. On a personal level, it’s about integrating my spiritual practice, relationships, and work. On a broader scale, it’s about ensuring that my voice and efforts contribute to the world I want to help create.
Community
Community has taken on a new meaning for me. In October, my husband and I started a small private home circle with six people. We share dinner, practice mediumship, and support one another. This circle has become my replacement for church services, where I often felt a lack of connection. Too often, those spaces seemed focused on what people could get rather than what they could give.Beyond personal circles, I’ve struggled with feeling disconnected from the larger spiritual community. Clinging to outdated ideologies and failing to live the values they teach has left many feeling adrift. On a societal level, political polarization and the disconnection fueled by technology have deepened this divide. Yet, I feel called to heal this—to build my own healthy, authentic community and inspire others to do the same.
Hope
After the presidential election, I felt an initial loss of hope—not because of who won, but because of what the results reflected about the moral fiber of the country. It was overwhelming to see how polarized and disconnected we’ve become. For a moment, despair threatened to take over. But I realized that giving into despair would be a surrender, and that’s not who I am.
This is a time in history that I fear we are moving in a direction that is not kind, nor fair. Yet, I know that hope is needed more than ever. Hope is not a passive wish. It’s an active choice. It’s the commitment to believe in the possibility of a better future and to take steps toward it, no matter how small. Hope reminds me to focus on change, to speak up when it matters, and to hold space for brighter days ahead.
The Sweetness of Pie
Although Pie didn’t make my final three, it stays close to my heart. Pie symbolizes joy, simplicity, and savoring the present moment. While my focus will be on Align, Community, and Hope, I’ll carry the spirit of Pie with me—a reminder to find sweetness, even in challenging times.
How These Words Work Together
Together, these words form a cohesive guide for 2025. Align keeps me focused on living intentionally. Community inspires me to foster connection and create spaces for healing and growth. Hope gives me strength to face challenges with resilience and optimism. These words balance purpose with possibility, offering both grounding and inspiration.
Looking Ahead to 2025
As I step into 2025, I feel the pull to expand my personal circles, reconnect with the greater spiritual community, and explore ways to make a difference in society. This includes the possibility of political involvement, an unfamiliar and daunting path for me. But I trust that Align, Community, and Hope will guide me, even when the way forward feels uncertain.
An Invitation to Reflect
If you’ve never tried choosing guiding words for the year, I encourage you to explore the practice. Reflect on what matters most to you, what you hope to create, and what values resonate deeply. These words don’t have to solve every problem—they simply need to inspire and light your way forward. This all started from Chris Brogan suggesting it in a Tweet back in 2014, so on this 10 year anniversary I say thanks to him.
As we enter 2025, I carry my words with me, ready to align my life with my purpose, nurture authentic community, and hold hope as my compass. And, of course, I’ll keep a slice of Pie close by—because even in challenging times, life’s sweetness is always worth savoring.
