A boy was walking along the shore of a beach when he noticed the starfishes being washed ashore. He picked up a starfish and threw it back in the ocean in an attempt to save its life. As he progressed along that shore, the empty shoreline would again be replenished by starfishes by the mighty waves. Without a sigh nor a second thought, the boy kept returning the starfish back to their home.
A man who was witnessing his efforts approached the boy and asked, "What are you doing there, little lad?".
The boy replied, "I'm saving the starfish".
The man laughed and pointed to all the starfish that were washed ashore. He said, "there is no way you can save all the starfish".
The boy bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the ocean and replied, "That was one life I saved. And that's good enough for me."
Speechless, the man admired the boy as he continued to return the starfishes back to their abode.
I was rendered speechless when Shyamala aunty recounted me this story after I had shared some failed attempts during my fundraising season pre-Senegal. This story reminded me of my own experiences picking up bottles from across the shore on the island of Ngor, an event I share on an earlier post, Love is the answer.
***
It is the end of April 2011 and I have just finished my presentation on global involvement and the development project I was about to work on in Senegal when a man, much taller than me, had pulled me aside to give me some feedback. I had spoken for well over an hour and the crowd was mesmerized, their eyes fixed onto me and the screen behind me. An overwhelming sense of satisfaction and fulfillment was pulsing through my veins and I couldn't help but sport the widest grin, despite my aching jaws and my dry mouth from talking non-stop.
He took me aside and pretty much lectured me on my naivete and how I was too optimistic and realistic, how I couldn't change the world, how one person cannot really make a difference, how half the facts I presented weren't actually facts but were projections and estimations, and so on. You can imagine how quickly my high had hit rock bottom. After what seemed like an eternity, I kindly excused myself to get some water when I bumped into some family and friends who were congratulating me and telling me how proud they were. I couldn't speak. One, because my throat was extremely dry and two, because of the state of shock that I was in.
****
Shyamala aunty reassured me that there would be people like this who would undoubtedly cross your path, and the best thing to do is to 'bend over, and throw that starfish back into the ocean', because saving/helping even one life was good enough.
A man who was witnessing his efforts approached the boy and asked, "What are you doing there, little lad?".
The boy replied, "I'm saving the starfish".
The man laughed and pointed to all the starfish that were washed ashore. He said, "there is no way you can save all the starfish".
The boy bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the ocean and replied, "That was one life I saved. And that's good enough for me."
Speechless, the man admired the boy as he continued to return the starfishes back to their abode.
I was rendered speechless when Shyamala aunty recounted me this story after I had shared some failed attempts during my fundraising season pre-Senegal. This story reminded me of my own experiences picking up bottles from across the shore on the island of Ngor, an event I share on an earlier post, Love is the answer.
***
It is the end of April 2011 and I have just finished my presentation on global involvement and the development project I was about to work on in Senegal when a man, much taller than me, had pulled me aside to give me some feedback. I had spoken for well over an hour and the crowd was mesmerized, their eyes fixed onto me and the screen behind me. An overwhelming sense of satisfaction and fulfillment was pulsing through my veins and I couldn't help but sport the widest grin, despite my aching jaws and my dry mouth from talking non-stop.
He took me aside and pretty much lectured me on my naivete and how I was too optimistic and realistic, how I couldn't change the world, how one person cannot really make a difference, how half the facts I presented weren't actually facts but were projections and estimations, and so on. You can imagine how quickly my high had hit rock bottom. After what seemed like an eternity, I kindly excused myself to get some water when I bumped into some family and friends who were congratulating me and telling me how proud they were. I couldn't speak. One, because my throat was extremely dry and two, because of the state of shock that I was in.
****
Shyamala aunty reassured me that there would be people like this who would undoubtedly cross your path, and the best thing to do is to 'bend over, and throw that starfish back into the ocean', because saving/helping even one life was good enough.
Source: Found floating about on Facebook
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