You may have heard of the starfish story. It’s about an old man who is walking on the beach. A big storm has passed and the beach is full of starfish.
The old man notices a boy in the distance who repeatedly picks something up and throws it in the water. As the man approaches, he asks the boy what he’s doing. The boy says that he’s throwing the starfish back into the ocean because if left on the beach under the hot sun, they would die.
The old man replies, “there are thousands of them! “You won’t make much difference.”
The boy picks up another starfish and throws it back into the water. Smiling, he turns to the old man and says, “I made a difference to that one!”
I’ve heard variations of Loren Eiseley’s “The Star Thrower” aka the starfish story and was reminded of it while in yoga class this week. The teacher told it during Shavasana (the resting pose). It was a needed reminder that even the seemingly small things we do can have a positive impact on someone’s life.
It Matters to That One
A few months ago, I competed in a speech contest at my Toastmasters club. I gave an extended version of my blog post, “What I Learned from a Squirrel” which is about the fear of uncertainty.
To my dismay, I messed up during the speech. I blanked on what I was going to say next. I did my best to stay composed and eventually recovered but only after a bit of rambling. I wanted to win the contest, but instead I didn’t even place. What happened afterwards made up for my disappointment. Someone in the audience approached me and said how she needed to hear my words that night. My speech mattered to that one woman.
It’s in those moments that I’m reminded we all have the ability to positively affect someone’s life (many times without even realizing it). So it’s important to share our talents and keep doing good, no matter how small. Even if it makes a difference to just one person, it’s worth the effort.
