The Mosaic of Life
On February 20, 1910 in Düsseldorf, Rudolf Steiner opened a lecture on The Sermon on the Mount and the Return of Christ with the following. Emphasis is mine.
If a theosophist, withdrawing for a moment from the immediate concerns of daily life, thinks about his tasks and duties in the external world and asks himself: Is there something that has to do with human happiness and human aspirations over and above the daily round of life? — then as a theosophist he will have an ample answer. He knows that he does not study Theosophy merely in order to occupy his mind because daily life leaves his soul dissatisfied. He knows that what he gets from Theosophy in his feelings can become a real force in his soul. For he is able at all times to say to himself: ‘In my inmost being as man I am something different from what I am in the external world. Together with such thoughts we should realise, deep in our inmost being, that as human beings we live all the time within two streams — one of which gives us our place in everyday life, and another which enables the soul to gaze into a world of the future, to assume its rightful place within the whole setting of cosmic life. This idea should never lead us to regard an external occupation as less important for cosmic life as a whole than some different kind of calling. We must realise that from a certain point of view the smallest and the greatest achievement of which we are capable are of equal importance for the whole. Life is a mosaic, composed of tiny pieces of stone. The man who places one little piece into the mosaic is not less important than the man who thought out the plan of the mosaic. As far as the Divine World Order is concerned, the smallest is just as significant as the greatest. Insight into this truth will avert any feelings of dissatisfaction which might otherwise so easily occur in life. This is the only attitude to our tasks in life that can give us a true understanding of the inner work that must be performed within our soul. It is the only true attitude to adopt to spiritual endeavour. Such ideas should never remain mere theory. The theosophist does well to bring home to himself over and over again in inner contemplation how little in keeping it would be with the World Order if some position in life left him unsatisfied. World-evolution could not take its course if we did not carry out in the right way what seem to be most insignificant details in life. This attitude will give us the right feeling for the great revelations of existence and we shall understand the significance of the teaching that each one of us, over and above what we represent in the physical world, should make ourselves as worthy as possible, in line with the wisdom of worlds. We must regard spiritual development in itself as absolutely essential.
At the time (1910) Rudolf Steiner was part of Helena Blavatsky’s Theosophical Society (she being the founder of Theosophy). Eventually Steiner broke from Theosophy due to its strict adherence to only Eastern Mysticism and Wisdom i.e. emphasis on Buddhist/Hindu concepts. Steiner, however, realized through his own astral learning (both Blavatsky and Steiner were authentic high mediums as well as scholars of esoteric traditions) that Jesus, the Christ, is the center of all Esoteric Wisdom. Eventually Steiner founded Anthroposophy or, as he liked to refer to it, Spiritual Science. In a nutshell, it is the use of the intellect through knowledge to achieve higher consciousness and Spiritual development.
You can find the full lecture on the RSarchive website.