"We are not saints; we are not heroes.
Our lives are lived in the quiet corners of the ordinary.
We build tiny hearth fires,
sometimes barely strong enough to give off warmth.
But to the person lost in the darkness,
our tiny flame may be the road to safety,
the path to salvation.
It is not given to us to know
who is lost in the darkness that surrounds us
or even if our light is seen.
We can only know that
against even the smallest of lights,
darkness cannot stand.
A sailor lost at sea
can be guided home by a single candle.
A person lost in a wood
can be led to safety by a flickering flame.
It is not an issue of quality or intensity or purity.
It is simply an issue of the presence of light."
~Kent Nerburn
Source: "Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace."