December 15, 2025 – Helping others
“When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.”
—Paulo Coelho (born 1947) poet, writer
“Believe that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Believe that you might be that light for someone else.”
Kobi Yamada, Author
“The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight”
Imagine a group of desperate, hungry, scared sojourners. They must pass through a dark tunnel, the only route available to them. They must proceed on faith alone, without any promise of a better life. They perceive the smallest flicker of light in the far distance, not knowing what it means.
Inside the tunnel, the group of sojourners moves slowly forward through darkness. Puddles, uneven footing, flickering lights. Someone helps another up. A child is carried. A stranger shares water. The light ahead is still small, but unmistakably real now.
O little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting light;
the hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight.
Now, I must ask you, America. What awaits? Masked, militarized goons?
This image answers the tunnel’s promise with betrayal.
The light was real, but it wasn’t mercy.
Or perhaps they are greeted with compassion and kindness.
America, who are you? Where are you going?
