I close my eyes
and shut out the world.

I need to do this.
I need to escape
now and then.

It all gets to be too much—
the human drama:

Bombarded
Severed
Entangled
Mislead

Why can’t there be someplace simpler?
How can we live side-by-side,
with only thin walls between us,
and not know one another’s names?

Break down those walls!

Hands
Hammer
Dynamite

Whatever you need
to tear down those barriers
and join with others.

Reach through that hole you have made,
take hold of their hands,
already searching,
and hang on for dear life.

Because without them, you are lost.

But we’ve abandoned community,
abandoned fellowship,
abandoned harmony,
for the sake of the individual.

Selfishness
Indifference
Materialism

And we take refuge in meaninglessness.

That car won’t feed the hungry.
That cell phone won’t comfort a crying mother.
That television won’t resurrect the dead—
the rewind button doesn’t work in real life.

We define ourselves by what we own—
but I am not my well-trimmed lawn,
but I am not my five-bedroom house,
but I am not the numbers on my credit card.

I’m indefinable.
We all are.

Yet we are given numbers
and bar codes
and membership cards
to remind us of who we are.

And who are we?

Selfish
Conceited
Xenophobic
Individuals

Who like hiding behind numbers and plastic.
…It’s easier than letting people see you

Naked
Self-conscious
Hysterical

So we build our walls.

Those walls…
those thin, invisible walls…
We create them in our minds
and close off ourselves from others.

We close our eyes,
our minds,
our hearts
to the suffering.

And we forget empathy,
forget happiness,
forget generosity,
all by closing our eyes…

So open them!
…as I again open mine.

See a world of brotherhood,
of community,
of possibility!

A world where the walls are not gone
but encompass us all in love,
in freedom,
in compassion,
in interdependence.

The air of that world is clear.
The water is sweet.
The earth is forgiving.
The fire is burning in every heart
like billions of miniature suns.

This world of spirit,
of emotion,
of unity
Can be ours.

Just reach through the wall…

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