We would rather die in our dread
Than climb the cross of the moment
And let our illusions die.
--W.H. Auden, "The Age of Anxiety"
It is easy to make a wish. It is not so easy to accept the truth that comes with the granting of that wish to life. We want a better world, safer streets, kinder neighbors, well-behaved children, food in our stomach, money in the bank, roof over our head. All the stuff we have been promised already in our past is ours right now in the present. To take it, grab it by its life and embrace it for all that it has to offer, requires transformation. Change in the way we trust, have faith, approach our neighbors, family and friends, and so on. Without it, well, we will just continue to live in our ruin. Auden's words give us a starting point for transformation: "climb the cross of the moment and let our illusions die."