Last night my boys sat down for a game of chess. A mind-stimulating activity. Talmud and chess: pencil sharpeners of the brain.
Pictured here, are the Rebbes playing chess during a rare moment when they weren't studying Torah. Hidden in the strategic skill of a chess match is a powerful lesson:
The whole objective of the game is a larger than life goal: The king has a vision for the kingdom, and thus everything revolves around ensuring the king endures. The graceful knight, the dominating castle, and down to the lowly pawns - who seem to be a dime a dozen (or eight) - everyone moves in lockstep to accomplish this mission.
But the pawns can go where no other can, and can be promoted, or transformed rather into absolute royalty.
Life is a chess game. Hashem has a Master Plan for the world, that it becomes a beautiful, kind, and Mitzvah-filled world. There are angels and heavenly ministers, each tasked with a piece of the puzzle. 
But it is the pawn on the lowest rung of the ladder - me and you - who can move no faster than one step at a time. The progress practically, imperceptible, yet steadily undeniable. Our non-glamorous actions accumulate into a headlong sprint for the finish line.
A mechanic tightening a rivet on Apollo 11, a construction worker laying the foundation of the Freedom Tower, a Jewish girl learning her Aleph Bet. Just as we could put man on the moon, we can, with constant advancement, achieve Hashem's vision for a better world.