We cannot know what is coming. At best, we can make an educated guess. I’ve tried to impose my will on The Sewing Machine Project so many times over the past 20 years—thinking I was reading the signs and interpreting them correctly, then moving forward in earnest. Sometimes it works. I feel the nudge of the Universe and recognize the nudge. It’s in the interpretation that I get caught up, simply by being human, and plenty of times, I’ve taken off in the wrong direction. Needing to adjust our course is not a sign of failure. It is a sign of learning. And one of the greatest lessons I’ve learned as both the Director of The Sewing Machine Project and in my personal life, is to listen, carefully guide, and help things flourish rather than deciding everything is in my hands.

How do we find light and agency in a time of darkness and division? In an age of mixed information and mis-information, we can only rely on what we know to be true. And this is what I know:

• We are connected in more ways than we are disconnected, though it’s often hard to see;
• When we come together around a common purpose, the deeper lines of connection blossom;
• There is something about working with our hands, communally, in an act of creation, that is powerful and impactful;
• It is the small ideas, with a true, honest desire to make positive change, that will shift the world towards the light.

Ask yourself what you know to be true and focus on that. No one person can change the world, but together, using our unique gifts, we can shift the course.

Happy New Year, my friends. If you are already a part of the SMP community, I thank you. If not, we welcome you to join:
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Margaret Jankowski is the Founder and Director of The Sewing Machine Project.
A writer and maker at heart, Margaret believes in the power of small ideas making great change.