One At A Time

Recently, I heard a story which illustrates the power that each of us have to change a life:

A friend of mine was walking down a deserted beach. As he walked along, he saw another man in the distance. As he grew nearer, he noticed that the local native kept leaning down, picking something up and throwing it out into the ocean.

As our friend approached even closer, he noticed that the man was picking up starfish that had been washed up, and one at a time he was throwing them back into the water.

My friend was puzzled. He approached the man and said, “Good evening, friend. I was wondering what you were doing.”

“I’m throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see, its low tide right now and all of these starfish have been washed onto the shore. If I don't throw them back into the sea, they will die from lack of oxygen.”

“I understand,” my friend replied, “but there must be thousands of starfish on this beach. You cannot possibly get all of them. There are simply too many. And don’t you realize that this is probably happening on hundreds of beaches all up and down the coast. Can’t you see that you can not possibly make a difference?”

The local man smiled, bent down and picked up yet another starfish and he threw it back into the sea, he replied, “made a difference to that one!”

It's a simple, yet powerful story.

Now, imagine all the starfish in your life. Those left helplessly to the mercy of their own environments. Your friend, who's unemployed. Your community, who struggles to rebuild. Your child, who seeks your affirmation.

Encourage them, even if it's only through words. Here's a few suggestions to brighten someones day: I'm proud of you, Way to go, You did it, Magnificent, I knew you could do it, You're very special to me, I trust you, What a treasure, Hurray for you, Beautiful work, You're a real trooper, Well done, That's so creative, You make my day, You're a joy, Give me a big hug (hug it out always helps), You're such a good listener, You figured it out, I love you, You're so responsible, You remembered, You're the best, You sure tried hard, I've got to hand it to you, I couldn't be prouder of you, You light up my day, I'm praying for you, You're wonderful, I'm behind you.

One at a time, you WILL make a difference!