One tiny candle. That is all it takes to push back the darkness, move the shadows into the corners where they lurk, unable to move closer.

One tiny candle. Enough to change a room, change a mind, change a moment.

One small voice. One person who stands up and says “Enough.” Who makes a single phone call to a senator, a congressperson, a city council member.

One sheet of paper. A letter to the editor, a note in a friend’s mailbox, a flyer taped to a telephone pole.

One phrase. “I am heartbroken.”  “I am afraid.”  “I am angry.”  A post on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.

One heartbroken person. That’s all it takes to begin. Me. You. A neighbor. A coworker. A stranger.

One tiny candle. And another, and another, and another, and another. Until the land is ablaze with the light of thousands of candles, flickering but strong, ready to light the next candle when this one’s wick is consumed. Until the shadows no longer lurk in the corners but creep reluctantly away to hide where they can do no harm, where they dissipate like a mist that barely existed.

I am that candle. We are those candles.

James Norbury is the creator of Big Panda and Tiny Dragon, and his Zen-like drawings and sayings are among my favorites. Buy his book.