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Every Saturday Alex Assali, a Syrian refugee living in Berlin, cooks large pots of food and shares it with the German homeless in his neighborhood in an effort to give back to the country that gave him asylum. Huffington Post reports that he left Syria in 2007 without a passport and lived in Libya for several years before making Germany his home. It is difficult to fathom the kind of hardships he must have faced in recent years, which is what makes this story so powerful.

If you can bless another while going through your own storms, no matter how intense those storms are, that really says something about you as a person and the human heart in general.

His story is making its rounds across the internet after a picture of him serving food was posted on social media. Apparently, he spends his own money doing this selfless work, despite being unable to find a steady job. He is currently living off of the German government, which is providing Syrian refugees 359 euros a month.

The Invisible Borders That We Create

The conceits of mankind are strange indeed. We seem to have this inbuilt need to draw invisible borders and imaginary lines in order to separate 'us' from 'them.' We have become a species numb to the pain, hurt, and suffering of others. I wish I lived in a world where kindness and generosity were foremost in our hearts โ€” a world where, if someone were suffering, there would always be someone there to help. What bothers me even more is that we already have the resources and potential to provide food, clothing, and shelter to every human being on the planet. It doesn't have to be this way. The money spent on war alone could solve these issues in such a short period of time, yet we've become so wrapped up in the system, in politics, and in our own greed, that we are unwilling to drop these experiences in order to thrive.

The story above is a great example of what makes human beings so special. All of us have that light within our hearts; we are born with it. No child is born racist or with hate in their heart โ€” these attitudes develop from our experiences in this life. Our minds can be shaped and moulded to think a certain way, and negative experiences or influencers can leave their mark. That being said, all of us, including those who have done what we call the 'worst' of acts, have love in their hearts. We all have that spark within us; some of us have just become disconnected from it, and that's because we've forgotten how to live together on this big beautiful planet of ours.

Service to others provides the greatest nourishment to the soul. It is a spiritual food which nothing material can replace, and it represents the true meaning of wealth, so I hope these words inspire you to do something good, to help a fellow human being. Because the truth is, you may be the only one who ever does. Next time the universe presents you with an opportunity to help another being, take it, or go out and create that opportunity for yourself.

The Syrian Crisis

"The crisis of war and the millions fleeing these infernos has reached levels unprecedented since World War II, prompting the United Nations and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to issue what they called an 'unprecedented joint warning' for states to end wars, respect international law and aid the 60 million refugees made homeless from recent conflicts." - Amy Goodman from Democracy Now

We've written in depth about the current crisis that plagues our planet. We have been invested in war for too long, and too few people are aware that these wars are being conducted under false premises through the use of mass propaganda. This is what has led to the devastation of the Middle East and the displacement of so many people from their homes.

"The continuing violence is a clear indication that a political solution to the conflict in Syria is desperately needed. The fighting must stop now. There is no military solution to the crisis, not in Syria or anywhere else. From Afghanistan to the Central African Republic, from Ukraine to Yemen, combatants and those who control them are defying humanity's most basic rules." - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

What is needed here is not a political solution, but a humanitarian one. One that calls for all countries to drop the silly games of politics and war and come together to help change our world.