An old man walked up a shore littered with thousands of starfish,beached and dying after a storm.
A young man was picking them up and flinging them back into the ocean."
Why do you bother?" the old man scoffed."
You're not saving enough to make a difference."
The young man picked up another starfish and sent it spinning back to the water.
"Made a difference to that one," he said.
Everyone can make a difference.
Sometimes my focus becomes narrow, the world around me shrinks down like a heavy wool blanket and I fall into a trap I call the "woe is me’s." "My shoulder hurts and I can’t sleep"," I can’t afford a flat screen TV", " I don’t make enough money", " I am not making the most of my life"," I will never find my soul mate", " I won’t leave a mark on the world", "my life isn’t making a difference". I turn inward and refuse to see the "bigger picture"around me.
I find myself worrying about the future, about the impact my life will have in the evolution of the world. I lay awake and dwell on possibilities and scenario’s that are far out of my control...and in my mind - everything becomes about me. These self induced pity parties can last a day, a few days, until at last for whatever reason I seem to once again poke my head out of the sand and resume life as usual.
A couple of things in the last day or so have jolted me back to the real world. Watching a friend walk the tightrope of real life waiting for the birth of a great niece while at the same time mourning the loss of a mother almost exactly a year ago and experiencing firsthand the circle of life.
Seeing my own mother conquering pain and disability to simply see a concert and celebrating the fact she would not have to cross yet one more activity off of her ever dwindling list of things she can still do.
Being open to the bigger picture makes me much more aware that the only thing I can count on is making a difference in the lives of the people I care about the most. If I do that, if I make a conscious effort to strive for happiness and contentment in the small moments of everyday, then I HAVE made a difference in my life and the lives of others. Everyone’s plate is full enough, but sometimes all it takes is a small act on your part to truly affect the life of another.