It is a kind of comfort to put on
earphones and listen to a woman
named Claudia give a free, live
webinar on cultivating abundance
in one's life, rather than to the rabid
pronouncements of the self-proclaimed
savior of America as he continues to justify
the building of a border wall. While he's
once again painting a picture of the violence
allegedly sown by immigrants and illegals,
Claudia is telling me and thousands of other
listeners to close our eyes and remember
the first moment we ever felt cut off, left
behind, unworthy of any of the world's riches
or radiance. She is telling us it's possible
to change those beliefs; to picture, instead of
a fence, a gentle light radiating from the universe
all around to envelope us in benevolence and natural
abundance. We don't have to be that hurt,
lonely child anymore: don't have to believe
our place is always in the dark, don't have
to accept that only debt or poverty or struggle
is our destiny. Thoughts are things: which means
the greedy, power-tripping haters, the ones who never
give a fuck about others, will live in a narrow, joyless
world. She has us envision the life we want: reminds us
to never abandon the idea of goodness that not only
remains in the world but still overflows in it.