BEANS: my word for 2026
Brought in 2026 with Steve and the kids in beautiful Sayulita.
I like to begin each year with a one-word mantra to turn back to when life gets crazy. My words are usually a verb, inviting me back to the motion I seek to embrace for the year. Words like SOAR. RISE. TRIUMPH. Last year’s word was Horizon - an invitation to travel, to keep embracing far flung distances. But this year’s word is different. It’s simple, short and round.
My word for 2026 is BEANS.
In August, out of the blue, I was rushed to the ER with soaring blood pressure. I couldn’t talk. Couldn’t control my body as it jerked and spasmed. My blood pressure was sky high. I thought I was having a stroke, that this was the end. The spasms would come and go, and whenever I regained control of my body, I would talk about the great tennis I played that morning. After a long night, the ER doctor discharged me and told me to go see a cardiologist, a neurologist, and an endocrinologist.
The same thing happened two nights later. And again one more night that week. Then, I began seeing doctors, lots of doctors, to try to understand what happened.
I’ve ruled out lots of very scary stuff, but am still not back to my pre-August self. And I hate it so much.
On a long ride with Sophie at Drowsy Water Ranch.
Maybe this is aging. Maybe this is just a blip. But I hate filling my calendar with doctor appointments instead of time at the barn with the horses or time on the court playing tennis. I am at my happiest galloping on a horse, wind in my face, speeding down a powdery blue run on my skis, or taking hitting a powerful overhead to win match point. Those are the thrills that I want to set my heart racing.
It may not be clear why this leads to BEANS as my 2026 word of the year. So let me explain.
Mary Oliver has this great poem entitled Self-Portrait which I am finding so inspiring as I struggle with this health blip, and the reality of settling into my early 50s.
SELF-PORTRAIT
I wish I was twenty and in love with life
and still full of beans.
Onward, old legs!
There are the long, pale dunes; on the other side
the roses are blooming and finding their labor
no adversity to the spirit.
Upward, old legs! There are the roses, and there is the sea
shining like a song, like a body
I want to touch
though I’m not twenty
and won’t be again but ah! seventy. And still
in love with life. And still
full of beans.
And because beans, in addition to representing my thirst for life and adventure, also taste pretty delicious, I’m also making it my word for 2026 to cook a pot of beans each week this year.
To guide my culinary challenge, I am going to use The Bean Book by Steve Sando, founder and owner of the Rancho Gordo bean company. It’s filled with beautiful photography and great tips to demystify cooking the beautiful beans Rancho Gordo sells. I’m so excited to put beans in soups, salads, and snacks all year long!
How gorgeous is this Lima Bean Succotash? It almost seems life-changing. And makes me so happy to embrace the power of this tiny and simple word - BEANS - as my 2026 mantra.
