Have you ever thought about the value of individual endeavor?

One example of this value was demonstrated on a dark starless night during a patriotic speech at the L.A. Coliseum.

There were around one hundred thousand people together when the president warned that all the lights would be shut down.

He said that even though they would be in complete darkness, there should be no reason for fear.

When the lights went off and the darkness took over, he lit a match and asked the crowd: “If there is anybody that can see this tiny light, please say ´yes! `”

A great noise came from the stands. Everyone noticed the minuscule flame.

Silence was made once again and the man said: “This is how a gesture of goodness stands out in a world of evil.”

Insisting on his ideas he challenged the crowd: “Let’s see what happens if everyone decides to grab a match and light it up.”

In a few seconds, almost one hundred thousand tiny flames lit up the entire arena, a consequence of the co-operation of almost a hundred thousand people.

This was a simple way that a man used to awaken the value of self-endeavor in people.

Usually when searching for solutions to our problems, we think that only big actions can make a difference.

For instance, if we look at a great mountain we conclude that a lot of work had to be done in order for it to have its dimension. But we forget that it was formed by tiny grains of sand.

Looking at the world through this point of view and doing what is up to us, we would have a better world in no time.

But if we think we are incapable of changing the world, it will remain as it is for a long time.

We all have intimate values to explore. We all can do something to make the world a better place to live.

As we noticed, a single lit match can defeat darkness.

It may be a tiny flame, but its clarity is noticed from great distances.

Jesus talked about the individual possibilities of each person and recommended: “Shine thy light.”

In that way, when things seem to be cloudy around us, we can light up our own little flame and make a difference.

It doesn’t matter what problems we have, we can always do something good for the overall benefit of everybody.

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Each individual is an intelligent gear that acts in the context of the social machine.

And this machine will only work in harmony and achieve its goals if all the pieces do what they are supposed to do.

Text written by the Spiritist Moment Team, based on a text extracted from the Reader’s Digest Magazine, 07/1949, page 57. Translated by P.H.Medeiros