Starfish Story

Although you may have heard this story many times, I think it is worth repeating. It reminds us that when it seems so overwhelming to make a difference in this world, we all can, just one small act at a time.

The Starfish Story

 An old  man is walking along the ocean and sees a beach on which thousands and thousands of starfish have washed ashore. Further along he sees a young girl, walking slowly and stooping often, picking up one starfish after another and tossing each one gently into the ocean. “Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?,” he asks. “Because the sun is up and the tide is going out and if I don’t throw them further in they will die.” “But, little girl, don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it! You can’t possibly save them all, you can’t even save one-tenth of them. In fact, even if you work all day, your efforts won’t make any difference at all.” The girl listened calmly and then bent down to pick up another starfish, and then another, and another and threw them into the sea. “It made a difference to that one, and that one, and that one.”

 You may not be able to change the entire world, but you can change a small part of it for  someone.  That is one of the things I love about Unbound, sponsoring one person at a time.  Some say that one of the most common reasons that we procrastinate is because the challenge before us seems overwhelming.  If we break the challenge into smaller pieces and take them one at a time we can make the challenge manageable.  And to that starfish or that child, it can make a world of difference!

To donate or sponsor a child, please consider visiting out Outreach page
www.unbound.org/myoutreach/JodiJackP