My heart is wide open after watching a 28-year-old man with autism sing on American Idol. You see, we all have handicaps of one sort or another or we wouldn’t be here on Earth. Yes, we are all playing hurt; some of us just realize this more than others.

The world is not our home or it would feel kinder and gentler, would it not? Would the people of Ukraine be fighting and dying for what may not end up looking like freedom at all?

I am afraid that most of us forget about higher realms where love can flourish and be free. We too often settle for what the world calls “facts.” Well, the facts are that evil is on the ascendancy (I know, I am repeating myself) in this world.

I am certain that rainbows are behind every dark cloud, but maybe not here on earth. I buried a seven-year-old who had just finished first grade, or almost. She had to drop out when cancer spread to her lungs. In mid-July of that year, we buried her. That was 42 years (tears) ago and had I known her father would also die that way, could I have ever made it?

My son and I tend to keep our hearts closely guarded in this devastatingly cruel world. I write to keep mine open. He never fails to be kind to anyone and everyone. We seldom bare our souls to each other because it would just be too much.

Whew! Take a breath, Vicki. You see, our country is being poisoned by one man, Donald J. You-Know-Who. And the whole world is being poisoned by another man, whose last name begins with P(utin). God only knows what will be unleashed yet on this weary world.

Never look to the world for anything worthwhile because you won’t find it. I have a calling to reveal the truth via the written word. I had a big dream where my house was collapsing all around me, but the architect told me that he could rebuild it, but this time my desk would be more towards the front of the house. The dream was telling me (I think) not to worry about making a difference in a cruel world, but to keep writing about the transcendent factor.

And what is that transcendent factor if not being honest in your very own heart. In my heart I know that the two mentioned men seek destruction of everything noble in this world. No one will be able to stop them; we can only seek the change that happens within.

My teacher, Vernon Howard, said that no one wants the truth, except a handful of people. The rest are seeking gold and glory. What they end up with is more cruelty and that means that we are all drinking from a poisoned well. To get a drink of pure water, one must climb higher than where you find yourself in society. I have given society up and no one misses me, so that is not anything to write home about.

I will close this essay by saying that it is good to know how bad things are in the world; only in that way can you discover the truth within.

Vicki Woodyard