{"id":93605,"date":"2026-08-13T09:57:05","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T14:57:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spiritualsparks.beehiiv.com\/p\/spiritual-sparks-the-long-light-of-distant-stars"},"modified":"2026-08-13T09:57:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T14:57:05","slug":"spiritual-sparks-the-long-light-of-distant-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/spiritual-sparks-the-long-light-of-distant-stars\/","title":{"rendered":"Spiritual Sparks: The Long Light of Distant Stars"},"content":{"rendered":"\n    <div class='beehiiv'><style>\n  .bh__table, .bh__table_header, .bh__table_cell { border: 1px solid #C0C0C0; }\n  .bh__table_cell { padding: 5px; background-color: #FFFFFF; }\n  .bh__table_cell p { color: #2D2D2D; font-family: 'Helvetica',Arial,sans-serif !important; overflow-wrap: break-word; }\n  .bh__table_header { padding: 5px; background-color:#F1F1F1; }\n  .bh__table_header p { color: #2A2A2A; font-family:'Trebuchet MS','Lucida Grande',Tahoma,sans-serif !important; overflow-wrap: break-word; }\n<\/style><div class='beehiiv__body'><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><i>Your influence travels further than you know<\/i><\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">In 2024, Jo\u00ebl Lapointe was using Google Maps to plan a camping trip through a remote region of Quebec when something unusual caught his eye: a nearly perfect oval indentation in the landscape -- stretching some 15 miles across.<\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">Lapointe wasn&#39;t a geologist, but the formation didn&#39;t look natural to him. Curious, he contacted scientists, who eventually undertook a journey into the rugged terrain to investigate the unusual formation.<\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">What they discovered would reveal something extraordinary that had happened there hundreds of millions of years earlier. <\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">Just what was that enormous indentation Jo\u00ebl Lapointe had spotted on Google Maps?<\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">\u2728<b>3 Ideas<\/b><\/p><ol start=\"1\"><li><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><b>We all have influence <\/b><\/p><\/li><\/ol><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">It\u2019s easy to wonder: What difference can an ordinary person like me really make? <\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">Every day, we affect the people around us through what we say, how we listen, the encouragement we offer, and the example we set. Most of these interactions seem ordinary, yet each becomes part of another person\u2019s experience.<\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><b>We all leave marks on one another, often without ever realizing we\u2019ve done so.<\/b> Classic wisdom teaches a spiritual principle: Every tiny movement in the universe affects the entire universe.<\/p><ol start=\"2\"><li><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><b>The power of tiny things <\/b><\/p><\/li><\/ol><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">Some migrating butterflies travel as far as 3,000 miles \u2014 an astonishing journey for something so small. <\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">Classic wisdom teaches a second spiritual principle: <b>Small actions can have large consequences.<\/b> We see this in our relationships. <\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">A shared smile can change the direction of a difficult day. Taking a moment to listen can remind someone that they matter. A word of support can restore someone\u2019s confidence. We can\u2019t measure the potential influence of an action by the size of the action itself. <\/p><ol start=\"3\"><li><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><b>The influence never seen <\/b><\/p><\/li><\/ol><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">We rarely know where our influence ends. Classic wisdom offers a third spiritual principle: The reach of our actions extends far beyond our awareness of their impact. <\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">Light leaves a star and travels through space. Years -- sometimes eons -- later, someone receives that light. So too with the people whose lives we illuminate. Values transmitted to children. The example of a grandparent. A teacher\u2019s encouragement. <\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><b>Like the light of a distant star, something of us continues onward in the lives we\u2019ve touched.<\/b> Decades later, others still carry something we gave them. <\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><span style=\"color:#d0e0e3;\">----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<\/span><\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">\ud83d\udcdc<b>2 Quotes<\/b><\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">\u201cCast your bread upon the surface of the water, for you will find it after many days.\u201d<br>\u2014 <i>Ecclesiastes 11:1<\/i><\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">\u201cSometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things, I am tempted to think there are no little things.\u201d <br>\u2014 <i>Bruce Barton, author <\/i><\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><span style=\"color:#d0e0e3;\">----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<\/span><\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">\u2753<b>1 Question<\/b><\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">What\u2019s one way you\u2019ve influenced another person, a group, or your community?<\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><span style=\"color:#d0e0e3;\">----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<\/span><\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">Scientists concluded that the enormous indentation Jo\u00ebl Lapointe had spotted on Google Maps was the site of an enormous meteor impact, dating back hundreds of millions of years. The meteor disappeared long ago. The mark it left behind remains. <\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">So it is with us.<\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">Our influence upon others becomes part of the lives we touch \u2014 and sometimes, part of the lives we will never know. Like the light of distant stars, what we send into the world continues long after the moment has passed. <\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">Until next time,<br>Wishing you a week of sharing your light with others,<\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><b>Rabbi Ze&#39;ev Smason<\/b><\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">P.S. What\u2019s one small way someone has influenced -- or continues to influence your life? <\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">P.P.S. Enjoyed this week\u2019s Spiritual Sparks? <i>Spiritual Sparks: A Reader<\/i> offers 16 more thought-provoking stories and reflections on living with greater meaning, purpose, and joy. Take a look on \u2014&gt; <b><a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Spiritual-Sparks-Reader-Zeev-Smason\/dp\/B0H2R2Q94Z\/ref=sr_1_1?_bhlid=4d606140cacc8cb9fca5323eea72a973ec8ed7e2&crid=UDJ9IYABEL0U&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.mmlGX8wXNWyQxLqeJqNQ1zcZ9OP9_FaDhohO2QLk1nO7Z7QtF5Xf_f5_f5yiapp66PJJ2DyRkABwcBmR7ZMexmhqkO8KUJkwBx1FqRGnsYfnsDLgbaz8hO3ItubG2ZajF6t--prDHVKDVsRkPiCVDsoMbGMbJsEH7X9NjKDHHonRwoceKJVGtHPTSuHE-oDho2zrUexUE90IOMETFXQV6SaWNWZWuSJB4pxHgU9yJlI.FvwtuB-glMqzY7zeFnjxX3RWz91eE9sALBD5pjZBNFM&dib_tag=se&keywords=spiritual+sparks+a+reader&qid=1786368084&sprefix=%2Caps%2C109&sr=8-1&utm_campaign=spiritual-sparks-finding-a-sense-of-where-you-are&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=spiritualsparks.beehiiv.com\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Amazon<\/a><\/b>\u00a0<\/p><\/div><div class='beehiiv__footer'><br class='beehiiv__footer__break'><hr class='beehiiv__footer__line'><a  class=\"beehiiv__footer_link\" style=\"text-align: center;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beehiiv.com\/?utm_campaign=2e736645-bf24-413c-8747-ff29b0f290e2&utm_medium=post_rss&utm_source=spiritual_sparks\">Powered by beehiiv<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n  ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your influence travels further than you know<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14776],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93605"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93605"}],"version-history":[{"count":91,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96228,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93605\/revisions\/96228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}