Winding down the year.

As the weeks of this year wind to a close, I've begun shutting everything down in my life as well - preparing to take my usual time at the end of the year to disconnect completely.
To reflect. To re-center. To ask myself the big, important questions about my life, my relationships, my art, my time, and my place in the world.

Now, maybe to you, two weeks of quiet, largely solitary introspection, punctuated by ramblings into a dictation device and epiphany sobbing might not sound like your idea of fun. But for me, it's about as good as it gets. :)

This year though, I was torn on pausing these letters - I have a few ideas for the next letters I'm excited to write, and some photos I adore from this month that I can't wait to cut into a video - and I didn't want to disrupt or lose that momentum.

But as I was reminded when I started looking back a few days ago - pausing is not stopping. And taking a moment to breath, re-center, and re-focus will not dull my momentum; it will sharpen it.

And so I decided to listen to my gut and my heart. I'll be taking the next few weeks off from the letters; they'll be back in early to mid January.

Thank you so much for coming along on the journey as I've restarted them this year, and ventured into new territory - both in content and form. I am so, so grateful to get to share these little glimpses of art and life with you, and to be a small part of your story as well.

Have a wonderful end of 2024, a brilliant and resetting new year, and a bright dawn to 2025.

Here's to us. All of us. Here on this tiny planet in space together.

We've got this.

With lots of love, -Steven

p.s. The best thing I heard all week was this duet between Iron & Wine and Fiona Apple. It's heartbreaking and beautiful and kind and wise, all at once - and captures so, so much life within.