Just one small candle, its flame hardly seen against the bright blue sky.
But it was there.
Shining.
Making a statement.
Twenty something students and I had just visited a concentration camp to get a first hand experience what our dark past had been like. The memories of torture, suffering, and death where looming over the hill. The lives of so many who had died here were still somehow present.
And now we were here to remember them.
It was an eerie feeling.
These people had died at the hands of those who no longer seemed to be people.
They were animals.
They had taken away whatever humanity had still been left in the victims and treated them like a piece of waste.
No dignity, no honor, just shame.
Silence.
We remember those who suffered in the past, but realize the suffering of today as well.
The people who are forced into slave labor.
The people who suffer in prostitution or the porn industry.
The many refugees who wait at the gates of Europe and are met with nothing but hatred and spite.
The people who don’t fit into our little view of the world and we so often judge.
People are still cruel today.
Humanity and dignity is lost in so many places.
And yet.
One small candle makes a difference.
As more and more people light candles we come closer together.
We are all individuals, but we are also all together.
And together we can make this dark world a little brighter, a little better.
Writing for Five Minute Friday today.
thisiskatha.com 
Oh Katha, yes!!! United in love rather than divided by hate etc.
Very true! Thanks, Tara!
Sounds like a really powerful experience. It’s true- the darkness and suffering in our world can seem so overwhelming at times. We definitely can’t do much about it on our own, but together, with everyone playing their own small part, we can make a difference.
Thanks, Carly!