The Starfish

And then there was Light

One day, walking along the shore, a teacher and a student came upon a beach littered with thousands of storm-tossed starfish, writhing and dying in the hot sun. Without a word, the teacher scooped up a starfish and gently deposited it in the waves. Overwhelmed by the sheer multitude of the suffering creatures, the student just stood and watched as the teacher picked up another starfish, and yet another, releasing them in the healing safety of the cool green water. At last the student spoke, "Teacher, what is the use in even trying? There are too many. How can you make any difference?" The teacher lifted another starfish from the burning sand and carried it into the surf to set it free, then turned to the student. "I made a difference to that one." ~Ancient Eastern Proverb

My Huna teacher told us this story and it left quite an impression on me. I later found Wayne Dyer also tells this story. The world may seem so overwhelmingly caught up in violence, financial ruin and hunger for many things outside of ourselves. But we can make a difference in the way we respond to our experiences. Be the one who can see it, feel it and affirm the differences you prefer.  There is much to contemplate in this story. Just one act of kindness or love sends out a signal like rings in a vast lake. You do make a difference. You have a choice in every minute of every day to express your preferences by being them. Just one person can change the world one smile at a time, one kind thought at a time, one starfish at a time and so on and so forth. This is very nice to know through practice.