Author Loren Eiseley wrote in The Star Thrower the story of a boy who was walking along the beach after a storm had passed and found that thousands of starfish had washed ashore.
It was morning and the boy knew that soon, the sun would be coming up and the tide would be going out. If he didn’t act fast, the starfish would die. He knew he had to do something.
So the boy started to pick up the starfish and throw them back into the sea, one at a time.
After awhile, an old man, who had the habit of taking a walk on the beach before writing each day, walked up to the boy. He watched and then asked him why he was saving the starfish, because every time he threw one back into the ocean, another washed back onto the shore.
The boy said, “I’m saving them. If I don’t throw the starfish back into the ocean, they’ll die.”
The old man noticed that there were many miles of beach and starfish were scattered everywhere. “You can’t possibly make a difference. There’s too many of them. What does it matter?” he asked.
The boy picked up another starfish, held it for a few seconds, and threw it into the ocean.
“It mattered to that one,” he said to the old man.
We have so many demands on our time each day. Between the meetings, the never-ending email, and all of the people who need us, there’s just too much to do and not enough time to do it all.
Sometimes when I’m stressed and I feel like I can’t make a difference, I’ll think about the story of the star thrower. I might not be able to do it all, but I can give my all to a few things that matter.
Another way to put it is like this: Do for one person what you’d like to do for everyone.
When a coworker is overwhelmed, you can ask them what you can take off their plate to help out.
When a friend needs someone to talk to, you can clear your schedule and spend time with them.
When our kids ask us to play, we can say Yes, even though it may be inconvenient at the moment.
You can’t do it all – but you can give your all to a few.
Like the star thrower, the young boy who was determined to save as many starfish as he could, we can decide to make a difference for a few even though we know that we can’t help everyone.
And for those we do help, we can walk away at the end of the day knowing it mattered to that one.