I have recently been impressed by stories of ordinary people throughout history who did extraordinary things to help others during dark times. These stories reaffirmed my faith in the good of mankind, and I wanted to share them with others and store them for myself.
As I tried to think of a blog title that would aptly describe what I'm trying to do, Taylor Swift's pop hit, "Out of the Woods," came on the car radio and I realized it was the perfect title. I've always thought of Stephen Sondheim's musical "Into the Woods" as a great modern parable of our experience here on this earth. We are, all of us, traveling through the woods. We don't find tidy "happily ever afters" in this life. There is always another problem, another terror, another challenge. But that is not the important thing. The important thing is that we help each other out of the woods. As we do so, we find Stephen Sondheim's lyrics to be true, "No one is alone," and Taylor Swift's lyrics to be true, "The monsters were just trees."
I invite you to learn about, celebrate, and draw hope from the goodness of those who have pushed back darkness, cleared away brush, carried heavy loads, and lighted the way for others as they traveled together through the woods. And remembering their examples, may we all take heart and increase hope and light and love in our own little corners of the woods.
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