February 2026

How do I answer the question of how I'm doing? What do we do when the world is on fire? How do we find home?

I had gotten better at saying that I'm good, but we're not good. Then I began to ask if that's the question we need right now. Maybe we need something closer to "how is your spirit today?" or "where are you finding joy?" or "how is community showing up for you?" The care is in the questions.

The response to an unending uncertainty we find ourselves stuck in tends to get a lot of people responding with what they "should be" doing. None of us have all the answers, but I am lucky to call some powerful people into my corner. I tend to draw in and be drawn to

• folks who are working toward healing
• those invested in the heart work
• change makers
• world builders
• badass babes

It's most likely, since you're on my email list, that you are one of them! Thank you. I'm going to give us all permission to do what we need to do in the ways we need to do so we are also taking care of our Selves.

Let's sidestep shame by moving a little further away from probably should and a little closer toward might could. Moving back to my Tennessee home a handful of years back has allowed me to remember some of the beautiful language that my ancestors created to get a little closer to what we actually mean. "Might could" is a lovely combo of ability and possibility.

We might could rest instead of rushing. We might could choose silence over social media. Laugh instead of languish? We might could. Our movements aren't just our mindsets, but a strong and serene mindset is a healing elixir to the pain of our current moment.

This February, I encourage you to let go of the probably shoulds and reframe what's next and needed as might coulds.

"Desert is the herald of spiritual renewal. What appears at first glance to be a barren, isolated landscape is in reality an other-worldly oasis that slowly reveals its splendors in the refuge of solitude...Do not fear being alone. Only when you learn to accept Desert, however stark and remote, can you access a profound relationship with yourself and the world. Let her immaculate silence nourish you. Whatever you resist persists...Desert teaches that wounds and sorrow are the gateway to liberation; what hurts you can also bless you." - from The Wild & Sacred Feminine Deck by Niki Dewart & Elizabeth Marglin, with illustrations by Jenny Kostecki-Shaw

Curious about how Confluence can support you & the work you're doing? Have feedback or just want to check in?

Connect with Jess

What Confluence is up to & offering

Joining the New Leaders Network got more accessible. Three subscription tiers have been added to make New Leaders more accessible to you and more sustainable for the Network. Join at the price point and level of engagement that's right for you. All price points get the exact same access to all network spaces. ​This is transformative leadership development for systems change at a rate and pace that works.

Empower membership $9/month or $108 annually ​Get Empower membership →​

Good & Growing membership $17/month or $204 annually ​Get Good & Growing membership​ →​

Sustainer membership $39/month or $468 annually ​Get Sustainer membership →​

Consider paying it forward. Access to the network is a great way to invest in the development of your team. Maybe you know someone who would be an ideal fit for the network but who can't make the empower membership work for their budget? If you'd like to purchase a subscription for someone else, beautiful! Reach out and let's make it happen.

Lana's work is very much focused on creating the conditions for healing, so our leadership and work can benefit from our transformation. The aspects of what makes humanity so encouraging- right relationship, nervous system regulation and a settled body, stewardship and tending of our people and planet- all come from a space of emergent healing.

For February's Grow circle, Lana will be with New Leaders! This is a rich and rare opportunity to learn in smaller community with other changemakers, and I hope you'll engage with it.

Access monthly Grow circles with network membership

Not ready to be a member but still want to access this Grow circle? Grab your ticket to "Healing-Centered Leadership with Lana Jelenjev" here.

NEW!! Rest circles are coming in February! Taking time to rest is so, so critical. Confluence is proud to partner with The Emperor's Chariot Tarot for a monthly reading, third Tuesdays beginning February 17. Delmetrius is a gifted and guided reader, and we hope you'll join to be inspired and affirmed. ​Rest circles are free for members of the New Leaders Network.

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We need principled, audacious leadership. We need folks rooted in their intrinsic wisdom and guided by emergence. We need people ready to partner to build what's next for our communities, organizations, and our planet.

Wisdom Partnership has grown from an initial desire to connect and share what I can offer in an hour to a spacious, 8-session collaborative journey. If you are ready to explore a leadership style that is aligned with held values of change, collaboration, and transformation, this is the container for you.

Become a Wisdom Partner with Confluence

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A one-hour session that can be delivered virtually or in-person. Recovering Our Communities tells the story of systems change through the process of recovery. Shifting systems is about recovering from our social addictions to the status quo.

A three-hour session that is best delivered in-person, but virtual is always an option. What is My Why? is for groups who want to deepen trust, understand why we are called to do the work we do, and increase connections within your team.

List of available workshops through Confluence

Partner offerings & collabs

Confluence is one node is a network of movement builders, change-makers, and influential work happening across our country and world. Check out what our friends are up to.

Liberation Nexus Lab: Resistance Regroup Resistance Regroup is an online community gathering together to support and uplift each other and discuss the big questions. It meets every other Wednesday evening at 7:30 ET/ 4:30 PT. Register HERE

Resonance Network: 40 Days of Knowing Our Gifts Resonance Network invites you into a 40-day, self-guided storytelling and reflection practice for people who want to bring their gifts into the world with care, courage, and clarity- especially in difficult times. More info & Register

What's on the calendar

• Tuesday February 3, 2026 | 6p CT / 4p PT Dirtroad Organizing & Run For Something: Kick Off Call for Young Rural Candidates​
• Wednesday February 4 | 2:30 CT / 12:30 PT Resonance Network: Mending the Arc Orientation​
• Wednesday February 4, 2026 | 7p CT/ 5pm PT Local Peace Economy: The Power of Awe and Inspiration: Bringing Connection and Trust Back to Communities Through Story Telling​
• Wednesday February 11, 2026 | 2p CT / 12p PT New Leaders Network: GROW: Healing-Centered Leadership with Lana Jelenjev​
• Friday February 20, 2026 | 12p CT / 10a PT New Leaders Network: GATHER​
• Wednesday February 11, 2026 | 11-12 CT/ 9-10 PT Radically Rural Roundtable: Using Revenue Based Financing to Combat Climate Change and Build Healthy Regional Food Systems​
• (in-person- Nashville, TN) Wednesday February 25, 2026 | Tennessee Nonprofit Network: Nonprofit Day on the Hill​
• (in-person- Memphis, TN) Tuesday April 28, 2026 | 8:30a-4p CT Tennessee Nonprofit Network: Board Fundraising Summit​
• UPDATE (in-person- Louisville, KY) October 9-10, 2026 | Othering & Belonging Institute: 2026 Othering & Belonging Conference​

read Jess was featured in a January issue of Rural Assembly's newsletter. You can read the Q&A with Morning Connections member Jess Limbird here.

watch So much of what needs to change will be changed as new leaders step up and into positions that require a heart-centered, transformative, systems leadership practice. Check out Canadian PM Mark Carney speaking at the World Economic Forum. New leadership doesn't belong to

listen I recently met Stephanie Nestlerode with 7th Generation Labs. She invited me to a session focused on finding our unique gifts and rooted in the Four Step Path of her teacher, Paula Underwood. She's given me permission to share the meditation. It's also housed in the Restore space of New Leaders Network.

Mutual aid: where to give your coins

Generosity flows from our inherent understanding that abundance exists. Money is a tool. In the hands of these great initiatives, it will be used to mend, tend, and support us.

• ​Help Bamby and Jes Keep Their Home. These funds will be used to help a family stay in their Juneau, Alaska home. This urgent need is still being met.
• ​Sponsor Sensory Haircut Experiences. These funds will be used to give neurodivergent kids a sensory-friendly haircut experience. Cause anyone who has had a meltdown or witnessed one knows that we all deserve access to care.
• ​Help Folks on the Frontlines of Unsheltered Anchorage. Trusted Connections is an Alaska-Native led nonprofit facilitating Indigenous-centered trauma healing circles, providing culturally responsive social services for unsheltered neighbors in Anchorage, and acting as safe liaisons for visitors from the village.
• ​Support Resonance Network in Activating a Generous Match. Resonance Network is where it's at. Seriously. Through programming like Mend the Arc and We Govern, Resonance is working alongside practitioners, organizers, and changemakers to shift toward our vibrant futures in community.

These will be updated monthly. If you have a need that folks can help with virtually, email them to me (with links!) by the first Friday of each month.