'Tis the season of hope and charity. Whether you celebrate Bodhi Day, Christmas, Ramaden, Hanukkah, Eid-Al-Fitr, Las Posadas or Kwanzaa - the end of the year seems to encourage us to remember that we belong to a much larger reality. To reconnect to dreams and a higher meaning, and purpose.

I can't think of anyone who embodies this more for me than a wonderful lady I used to work with and am privileged to call friend. Originally from Columbia, she had yearnings to return to her ancestral homeland and help those who could only dream of the abundance she now enjoyed. People who struggled daily to find enough food to eat and proper medical care and clean water. People who faced every day with the hope that their children would survive to adulthood. The homeless, mentally or physically disabled, uneducated.

And one day she did it - she left the soft pillow of an American life and willingly shouldered the hardships of her native land. She followed her heart and had the guts to make a choice to put service above personal comfort. To me this decision symbolizes the struggle we all face in choosing what's right over choosing what's easy.

Sometimes it can appear that our purpose here on earth is to build a life of physical comfort. Certainly media advertising supports that concept. Our days are populated with things to make life easier - vacuum cleaners with motorized wheels, car seats that automatically adjust to fit our particular bodies, and bread machines that mix, kneed and bake.

A lesson from the generosity story

If you don't believe comfort is a driving force in America, just wander down the multiple medication isles of any pharmacy. There are thousands of drugs and potions to make sure any discomfort you feel can be numbed within five minutes. The pleasure principle is alive and well in a neighborhood near you.

But, what if the gnawing desire of your heart beckons you to abandon comfort and walk a path filled with uncertainties and probable sacrifice? What if what you want most isn't a 3,000 sq. ft. home or selection of 150 shoes? What if what you want most is to make a difference in the human condition? To know you lightened the load of another - even just one.

Charity, service, contribution, giving - good will toward man. The desire to enrich the human experience. To share not just what you have, but who you are with those in need.

It has been reported over and over again from those nearing the end of their lives that what made the trip meaningful was knowing that they'd made a difference in the lives of others. Tomorrow they may no longer exist, but they will have left a legacy of love and compassion. And it shows in their eyes that in all their giving, THEY are the greatest receiver.

'Tis the season. As you wait in line to purchase that special gift for that special someone, remember that the toy or necklace might make their eyes sparkle, but it's your love and caring that will touch their hearts. To know that you really see them; accept them; treasure their existence.

As for my friend, her love and compassion flows beyond love of family. No one is a stranger. She simply gives of herself to anyone who needs; for she knows that love was never meant to be rationed according to status or familiarity or convenience. Alba, my dear friend, you are my hero.