Some things stay in place
This is not the standard Q&A newsletter, those will resume next week, but I just wanted to share a story before this year ends.
Yesterday, I was hanging out in the studio working on a painting of a hideous man and a song came on. It was a song I’d heard hundreds of time, but not a while, and it hit a little differently. The songs was Levi Stubbs’ Tears by Billy Bragg, and the lyric that hit a little differently was this:
When the world falls apart some things stay in place.
A little background: Levi Stubbs, who left us in 2008, was the lead singer of the Four Tops. His voice was something else. And in an era where lead singers were routinely given top billing, i.e. Levi Stubbs & The Three Tops, Levi Stubbs never wanted to be anything other than The Four Tops. Levi Stubbs’ Tears was the first single off Billy Bragg’s 1986 album Talking to the Taxman About Poetry. It tells the story of a woman going through some dark shit who takes solace in her Four Tops tape. (Thank you, Wikipedia.)
When the world falls apart some things stay in place.
Tomorrow is the first day of 2025. The world is falling apart. I cannot, in good conscience tell you otherwise. I have little hope that it will not. I have little hope in big things. I have some hope in small things. Some things will stay in place.
Our job is to both find those things and to help those things that stay in place. If you cannot keep the world from falling apart, maybe you can help feed people in your community. If you cannot keep the world from falling apart, maybe you can give comfort and aid to a friend who needs it. If you cannot keep the world from falling apart, maybe you can help someone build a house. If you cannot keep the world from falling apart, maybe you can make sure the bird feeder in your backyard is always full. If you cannot keep the world from falling apart, maybe you can make sure that everyone who walks through your door is met with love and safety.
Everything that we can keep in place, no matter how small, matters.
There will be days when you can help things stay in place, and there will be days when you need help staying in place. And you should expect, and be ok with that, as well.
When the world falls apart some things stay in place.
So tonight, as you’re coming up with your New Year’s Revolutions (no typo) ask yourself what can you help stay in place. Chances are someone out there in your community is already trying to hold something in place. Find them.
This year has been this year, and I have no need or desire to dissect it, but one of the highlights has been writing this newsletter together. Thank you.
📹 Here’s Billy Bragg singing Levi Stubbs’ Tears.
🙋 Got a question? Ask it.
🍉 If you’ve enjoyed this year together, the best way to thank me is to donate to the PCRF.