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Leo
Rosten's quotation is a remarkable statement.
Isn’t that what living life to the fullest is all about? Isn’t it
all about discovery; finding hidden talents and interests; experiencing
all there is about life so that you can make wise decisions as you grow
and develop into a mature, responsible individual?
I want to share with you with one of my favourite stories of all time.
It is called The Star Thrower, and is written by Loren Eiseley. Her story
has been told and retold so many times that I am sure it would be next to
impossible to find the original version, but the story goes something like
this:
Once upon a time there was an old man who used to go to the ocean to
walk along the beach and enjoy the waves crashing upon the rocks. Early
one morning he was walking along the shore by himself. As he looked down
the deserted beach, he saw a human figure in the distance. As he got
closer to the stranger, he saw that it was a young teenage boy. The boy
was reaching down to the sand, picking up something and very gently
throwing it into the ocean. As the old man got closer, he yelled out,
"Good morning, young fellow. What are you doing?"
The teenager paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish
back in the ocean."
"Why on earth are you doing that?" asked the old man.
The boy replied, "Because the sun is up and the tide is going out.
If I don’t throw them in they’ll die."
The old man looked at the teenager in disbelief and said, "But the
beach goes on for miles and miles and there are starfish all along it. You
can’t possibly make a difference."
The young boy listened politely, then bent down, picked up another
starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said,
"It made a difference for that one." And then the very wise
young boy continued on his way down the beach, bending down and throwing
starfish after starfish back into the ocean.
Whenever I feel like I am up against tremendous odds and that my
efforts are hopeless in the larger scheme of things, I think about The
Starfish Thrower. I would advise every student, parent and teacher to
make a copy of this story and keep it somewhere handy so that every time
you wonder about your worthiness you can read it.
We have all been gifted with the ability to make a difference. It is
just like Leo Rosten stated in the title to this article: "The
purpose of life is to matter; to count; to stand for something; to have it
make some difference that we lived at all".
It is my personal belief that there is something very special in each
and every one of us. It is also my belief that it is our responsibility as
human beings to reach out to the people who come into our life and make a
difference by sharing those special gifts. And the wonderful thing is that
we can all accomplish this with very little effort.
You may not be able to change the world, and you may not be able to
make a difference to everyone, but you certainly can make a difference to
most of the people you meet.
The young boy in the story understood this very important meaning of
life. He represents all young persons who have the courage to experience
all there is to encounter along their journey of life. They are not afraid
to reach out and try new things.
The old man in the story had become
skeptical from his experiences with others. He had adopted the philosophy
that if he cannot change the world, there is no use in even trying. He
would sit back and do nothing to save the starfish.
What he learned from
the young boy on the beach is that even if the odds are against you and it
seems as if there is little you can do, what little you can get done will
definitely make some difference. It doesn’t matter how long your journey
may be, you can still only get there one step at a time.
Don’t miss out on a golden opportunity to make it a real difference
that you have lived at all. Live your life to the fullest and be the best
you can be. |
