[The text of this sonnet is printed below.]

We are so close!  We are closer than we have ever been to creating the ideal realm that the wisest humans have foreseen and been working toward for the past 2,500 years—a short time compared to all of human evolution, and yet long enough for us to develop the ethics and tools we need, long enough to get good and ready.

The arc of the moral universe is long and it has been bending toward this moment, this terrible polarized, destructive yet miraculously transformative year when millions of children rose up to demand we create a sustainable, harmonious, healthy relationship to the earth, and millions of people of all races rose up to demand that we create a society that is socially, economically and environmentally just and equitable for all.

These two uprisings are branches of the same tree of life, they are one forward movement of growth into the ideal society that treats all life and all the earth as sacred, meaning worthy of compassion, care and respect.  Both uprisings have demanded the ethic of the Golden Rule and the love of neighbor, grounded in a vision of oneness that sees that everyone and everything is our neighbor.  These are the foundational laws of the society that humanity’s spiritual, philosophical and wisdom traditions have called us to create.

We are so close!  Humanity is awakening to this expanded consciousness, eyes are opening to new perspectives, public opinion is rapidly shifting.

We can do this!  And the way we do it starts with making our own choice to be the change we wish to see in the world, and going out from there to help others awake and change, thinking of ourselves as part of a movement, as being one, every step of the way.  The choice is to be a positive force, to be on the side of love and life and light and give our time, talents and resources to that cause.

This poem is connected to “Light Muscle Building” and the introduction to it also applies here, offering practical steps to be part of a movement that can reach the ideal world that is so close.

The Choice   

The world abounds with those who would destroy
the beautiful abundance earth provides,
and I must choose between despair and joy,
between a path that drains, defeats, divides
my weary body, grieving heart and soul,
or one that gathers up the remnant good
and molds a life, full, beautiful and whole.
I take my stand where all the saints have stood.
I do not know if this time we will win,
but other ages have been harsh and dark
and yet, look back, and you can see begin
the choice that changed the course, the moral arc,
and heart by heart transformed their hopeless night
because they chose defiant joy and light.

copyright 2020 Thomas Cary Kinder