A Path Worth Taking

Editor's Note: The Patterson Foundation invites you to be part of a meaningful opportunity to strengthen the connective tissue of our community through conversations rooted in a shared sense of possibility. With the release of The New Civic Path: Restoring Our Belief in One Another and Our Nation by Rich Harwood, The Patterson Foundation is launching a series of book circles across Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota counties.

Through thoughtful, facilitated conversations led by a consultant from The Patterson Foundation, participants will reflect on what it means to build deeper relationships and envision a more inclusive, responsive future. Learn more here.

I’ve always been a believer in the power of communication and connection. Facing the throes of recent culture has both deepened that piece of my belief system and challenged it. Through several areas of our current society, there is clear intentionality in the polarization of people through varied resources, social media, and beyond, but I have found myself seeking a way to push against that pattern. My desire to find a path forward far outweighs my desire to convince others that my way is the right way. 

It felt like a refreshing confirmation of my value system when the book, The New Civic Path: Restoring Our Belief in One Another and Our Nation written by Richard Harwood, was introduced to me. I found it encouraged me to focus on finding ways into conversations versus avoiding the tough stuff or getting ruffled by those who share different opinions from me. As Rich Harwood mentions, we must not let disagreement derail us from moving forward. 

It was a privilege to facilitate a book circle with others from various backgrounds, all of whom shared feelings of hope, a desire to take action toward shared aspirations together, and a commitment to take on the next steps. The most poignant takeaway for me after reading this book was to consider that forging a new civic path is really more like physics than civics. “Physics tells us that an object won’t move or change direction unless a new force acts on it.” Essentially, with that in mind, we need to press go and keep going–identify the shared aspiration(s), get into action, and begin creating momentum. 

The New Civic Path book circles are an open-door opportunity to navigate discussing our shared aspirations for our community while acknowledging that we all come from different places and may have different belief systems. Sameness in thought is not the goal, but finding a way forward is. I hope you’ll consider walking this new civic path with me.

Join a book circle and become a catalyst for your community’s voice. The commitment is low, but the impact could last generations. 

To learn more, click here, or share your interest in joining here. Questions? Watch the 35-minute virtual info session from Tuesday, July 15th, to learn how you can participate in a book circle anytime from July through October.