This is a photo of the first business to return after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, and it’s a wonderful example of a key human characteristic: Initiative. Even though the city was in ruins, this fruit merchant found some produce to sell, an intact desk, a couple of barrels, and went right back to work.

Note also that he was selling his fruit for the old prices, rather than raising them, even though he probably could have. That says that he was either a humanitarian, understood long-term commerce, or most likely both.

Self-generated actions like this are the ones that really matter, and disasters form a backdrop against which they stand out. But whether we notice them or not, the taking of initiative is crucially important, both to the human race and to us as individuals.

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So, before going back to the mundane, please recount an event in your life where you acted solely upon your own initiative. Or, start imagining such actions. They matter far more than we’ve been led to believe.