Hey, Have You Got a Light?

Once upon a time, there was a group of people, each wandering alone through a dark forest. Each one was certain they were the only person wandering alone, off the beaten track. They felt lost.

Occasionally they would call out to see if anyone could hear them. But the forest swallowed their voices. So they fell silent, assuming their isolation was proof that no one else was wandering in the forest, that no one would hear them or find them.

Then one person realised, "hey, I've got a box of matches in my pocket". He pulled out a match and struck it.

The flame was absurdly small. It barely illuminated his own hand cradling the flame before a gust of wind blew it out. It certainly wouldn't light the whole forest, wouldn't solve the problem of being lost, and wouldn't magically reveal the path home. He stood there in the dark forest, and through the tiny dancing flame, the outline of a path became visible.

Another wanderer, fifty metres away, saw that tiny light. And she called out. They followed the sound of each other's voices until they found each other, meeting just as the first wanderer's fingers were burnt and the match was fully consumed.

Then the second wanderer remembered, "hey, I've got a lighter”. And she lit it. She flicked it on and off, creating signals that bounced off the trees in the pitch black like morse code. And out of nowhere came other wanderers, lost in the dark forest. Now they were a small group.

They were still lost. The forest was still dark. But now they had something more valuable than a map: they had each other.

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If you're reading this, you might feel like one of those lost wanderers. You may have forgotten what you're carrying in your pocket. Maybe it's a match. Maybe it's a lighter. Maybe it's a small flashlight or even just the glow from your phone screen. It doesn't matter what kind of light you have — what matters is that you have something, and someone out there needs to see it.

Do you see problems that seem invisible to others? Do you believe society could function better, more justly, more wisely — but you wonder if anyone else sees it? Do you feel isolated in your hope that we could rediscover the enlightened principles that once guided us back onto the path we were meant to take?

There are more of us than you may realise. Many of us are wandering in the same dark forest, assuming we're alone. Someone just needs to light a match. Maybe that someone is you. Maybe you're reading this because someone else already did, and their small light helped you find your way here.

This is what THENO is for — and what the Blueprint maps out. Not to provide all the answers or light the entire forest — but to be small flames that others can follow.

The path exists. Let's find it together.

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Somewhere in the darkness, someone is asking: 'Hey, have you got a light?'

And you do. You always did.