There’s a wonderful purposefulness and constancy about lighthouses. They’ve been around for centuries, guiding, warning, reassuring sailors on their long voyages. A few years ago I visited one of the oldest lighthouses in the world, the Tower of Hercules in northwest Spain, and felt an immense gratitude for its builders. How practical and helpful—how compassionate! It was such a strong reminder of how we need to look out for each other–how deeply we need to care for each other. Sometimes we might be in a fog and we can’t see clearly, and then a lighthouse becomes a soundhouse—blaring a loud horn to help us navigate our journey. Become your own lighthouse. Feeling oppressed by the state of affairs or when our compassionate awareness turns to helpless grief can immobilize us. But no matter how difficult things are, we can always be a constant light from within. We can’t always show others where to go, but we can show them where we stand so that they can navigate shoals, shallows, rocks, and weather with greater ease, clarity, comfort. We can always stand firm and strong and beam our light of assurance and steadiness—this in turn allows them to shine theirs.