Dear Reader,
I learned recently that Picasso and I have a lot in common. Not in our political beliefs, but in our belief that art and policy go hand-in-hand.
Here’s me with Picasso’s work.
My chosen medium (no surprise) is the English language, and I have spent the last few months trying to find the words to make sense of all the colors my soul has felt in that time. You wouldn’t know it from this picture, but there were days I had to talk to myself about getting out of bed.
I haven’t been able to complete the picture, until now. And I think in fact, I may not be painting a picture, but building a church. Now that I’ve completed a window and let the fresh air wash over me, I’m making peace with the words I discovered within myself.
I’ve been under a bit of a rock (rock I’m using to construct the walls of my metaphoric church) and I made the gentle decision the other day, that I am going to remain under that rock just a little longer.
It’s a gentle decision I have made for myself, because a lot of next years content goes to war with constructs around us with which we coexist. Not all of it is gentle content.
Officially, the end of year letter is coming out after the first of the year. I know - kicking off a new year with last years story isn’t the ideal fresh start, but if you’re like me, you may still be reeling from last year as you try to catch your footing into the next. The great life journey seldom comes with clean lines.
My end of year came a little unraveled, but what comes from a hard chapter in life is a deeper sense of purpose and direction than I have ever had. I now know what I’m doing, and why, and for what it is I stand. My head and heart sound a little like the drums of war these days.
Even I read my own work, and I see something deeply special about it. It’s not cheap content - it’s challenging, earned, and comes from a very true place.
Because of this, sometimes the pieces are produced with irregularity. The only way to write them is to be equally in the world, as in the space to make sense of what it means to be in it and of it…and then write about it. The bravest thing I have done recently is to keep my mouth shut while I’ve taken the world in and made sense of it.
And the next brave thing I will do is talk about my quiet time and all I’ve learned in it.
The blog and podcast are coming in hot in January. The first piece will be very real talk about why policy matters to me, and I suspect it will speak to you too. It’s going to be layered in talk about mental health, purpose, and making peace with whatever it is you are warring.
I’ll be under this rock a little longer. It’s here that I’m visiting Picasso, and spending much needed time with family, and reading about political insurgencies, and meditating, and hiking mountains and sleeping quietly in little waterlogged towns. Follow the Instagram if you want to see the footage.
I wish you the very best end of your year you beautiful human, and to those of you who have been sending messages about the next piece with notes of, “We believe in you,” you are the salt of life.
I’ll see you in the new year. I’ll be taking you to the church I’m building. The glass is stained but I suspect, it’s the most meaningful way to know the light.
Your Partner in Policy,
Taylor Patrice