Once a man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Off in the distance he could see a person going back and forth between the surf’s edge and the beach. Back and forth this person went. As the man approached he could see that there were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the natural action of the tide.
The man was stuck by the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to perish. As he approached the person continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them into the surf.
As he came up to the person he said, “You must be crazy. There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. You can’t possibly make a difference.” The person looked at the man. He then stooped down and picked up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned back to the man and said, “It sure made a difference to that one!”
I publish this story so that you can ask yourself the questions: ‘What can I do this month to make a difference? Who can benefit from what I have to offer? When can I give of my time for others? Where can I help?’
Now that you have answered those questions, go to the beach and rescue some starfish!!! 1 at a time!
You can convince yourself that life will be better
After you get married
Or after you had a child
Or even after you had that second child
Later you feel frustrated
Because they won’t leave the house fast enough
And you think life will be better
When they have started their own
You are convinced you will be happier
Once that step is reached
You think your life will be more fulfilling
When things start to get better for you
For your partner
When you have a powerful car
Or even when you will have that country house
When you will go on holidays to paradise
Or even when you will retire
The truth however is that there is no better moment
To be happy
Than right NOW
Than the present moment
Life will always be filled with projects
Targets, goals and deadlines
It is better to accept that for fact
And to decide to be happy now
For a long time I was looking
For the real start of my life
Yet all I met was barriers
Problems and roadblocks
An unfinished goal
A debt to be paid
Time not in hand
Until I became aware
That those barriers are part of life
And that there is no journey to ultimate happiness
The journey IS happiness
Every moment is special
Treat them that way
Then there are no more barriers
And happiness will be your life!!
(Adapted from a Flemish text – Author unknown)
(Patrick Mercie – 11-06-09)