First off. Beautiful post. I wish I could be more hopeful about the future, hell even about the present. Every week it seems like something else rears it's ugly head like a hydra that cannot be defeated. One step forward, five steps back is often what I see and what everyone sees.

But, then every now and then there is some good that gets caught in the wind of the bad and comes forth to show that not everything is as bad as it seems, and that despite the evil intentions of many, true good shines through.

I am not talking about this in a religious sense, as I myself am agnostic. But we as human beings know good from evil almost instinctively and it's nice to see stories that bring forth and shout out that there are lots of good things happening. For instance, the story or video about the jewelry store / pawn shop owner who is a Muslim man, and the woman that came to him who was obviously non-Muslim and in very dire straights enough to sell her ring, which had been given to her as a gift. The shop owner not only gave her money after asking how much she needed, but gave her back her ring. It's something that seemingly tiny that kind of lights up a space in the darkness from time to time, but it's a very bright spark and I think gives people hope and faith (maybe a wrong term to use) in the human race, and in our individual ability to do good and to love and help others.

I write this as a near misanthrope. My view of people has really gone down the tubes lately to the point of near misanthropy, but there is always something like the said event above that brings me back from it totally.

Thanks for writing this post, Ozer.

~Neo Khan