In the hustle of the morning rush hour on the road, there was a crowd of people on the sidewalk waiting to cross the road. Unfortunately there were not standing anywhere near the zebra crossing. Most of the vehicles sped up even on seeing them standing there to reach before the next traffic light turned red. Yet despite the rush, few of the vehicles did slow down to allow them to pass through. On watching the whole scene from the bus, I was wondering among them might be a few people who would be able to make it to time for work, while others would be able to head home after a long night. Yet come what may, they were able to cross the road because some vehicles had stopped to give a free path.
In the midst of the chaos of the modern life, we often wonder why do something kind and unselfish; as nobody really bothers and we don’t get anything in return. Yet the fact is that one small random kind act will influence somebody who will continue the change and eventually the chain will grow longer and bigger. Then the small difference becomes a momentous change which will affect and benefit a huge cause.
This reminded me of a story I had once read about the boy and the starfish. For those of us who haven’t heard about it, it as follows.
A man walked along the shore and suddenly saw a boy who raised something from the sand and threw it into the sea. The man came closer and saw that the boy was lifting the stars from the sand. They surrounded him from all sides. It seemed that on the sand – millions of sea stars, the shore was literally strewn with them for many kilometers.
“Why are you throwing these starfish into the water?” Asked the man, coming closer.
“If they stay on the shore until tomorrow morning, when the ebb tide begins, they’ll die,” the boy answered, continuing his occupation.
“But that’s just stupid!” Cried the man.
– Look around! There are millions of sea stars here, the shore is just strewn with them. Your attempts will not change anything!
The boy picked up the next starfish, thought for a moment, threw it into the sea and said:
– No, my attempts will change very much … for this star.
Then the man also picked up the star and threw it into the sea. Then one more.
By the night on the beach there were a lot of people, each of whom picked up and threw a star at sea. And when the sun rose, there was not a single soul left on the beach.
Likewise being a part of a bigger community, there is so much that we can do. Organizing small clean up drives in the public park, mowing lawns for the elderly, help in reading sessions in the town library, helping someone to load or carry groceries and so on. The list is endless.
A small act of kindness and goodwill doesn’t take much time or effort on our part. All it requires us is to keep our eyes wide open and be empathetic. While we may not be able to make a huge difference by a small act, it will make a change for one person. While one drop may not alone make an ocean, it contributes to the beginning of more drops and finally the ocean is there.
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