Is my glass half full? Yes. Do I believe that I have plenty to share? Yes. Is there hope for the future and all that it might bring? Definitely. How strong is my faith that younger generations can stand on the shoulders of giants and bring about a better world? I trust them implicitly. On many days I might be seen as a progressive. Most days I’m a downright leftist, believing that we can work together for the common good. Acknowledging the rational limits of relying on enlightened self interest alone to rein in our lesser natures. On other days though when the bickering between factions and special interest groups becomes loud and feisty, I lean away from the power of large groups working together and more towards the strengths found in smaller communities working independently in a loose framework of common goals and priorities.

Have I always maintained a consistent viewpoint to politics and governance? No way. There were times when I let my fear take the reins. When I viewed the world from a place of lack, I held onto everything with an iron grip. Did I always end up having enough? Yes. But did I believe that I would have enough? No. My politics were a reflection of my world. I lost everything: my marriage, my job, my shelter, and my carefully crafted sense of safety. I clung to each little tuft of my prior life as if it would save me. I felt helpless and looked for someone to blame. There were thousands to blame and no one to blame. I took myself and my choices to the judge and jury of my own head and found that I had but partial guilt. My political views bounced and collided with outcomes and experiences like a pinball against the bumpers. During that time all of my political views were reactive to outside forces and so they careened from left to right and back again.

What changed? I began to realize that I had always had enough. Maybe not the enough of extra, but somehow when I needed 20 dollars it miraculously appeared. Something had been overpaid, or there was money that had been blown by the wind onto my porch. If I didn’t lie down and give up, a way forward would show up. If the universe could do that all by itself, I could imagine that people could do at least that much if we tried. Being knocked down over and over again led me to trust that it would work out if I didn’t get in the way. My glass went from half empty to half full. My level of how much stuff I needed to have before I could share some changed dramatically because I trusted that there’s always more on the way. The idea of giving away some to allow for more to come in made itself at home in my heart. I used to be pretty arrogant and the universe sanded that off. I don’t know better just because I am old, or because I did this or that. I watched my children and their peers struggle to bring light to dark places and know, that no matter what, their hearts are in a good place. What more can I ask? I still lean into Kropotkin on the days where it seems that compromise is impossible but I stubbornly refuse to change my views at this point.

The world is in good hands when it’s in the hands of the young. We do have enough to take care of everyone. We can rise to be our better selves. My political views are no longer up for modification by anyone outside of myself. I will choose hope and love and kindness over profit every day. If that’s naive, then so be it.