Sometimes we feel so overwhelmed by situations in our lives that we overlook the simple, step by step actions we can take to make things better. This story beautifully demonstrates what an impact we can have when we focus on one thing at a time. You’ll especially enjoy this story if you are, or have ever been, a caretaker for others (persons or animals) and wondered if what you do/have done for them matters.

And now for the story:

A friend of ours was walking down a deserted Mexican beach at sunset. As he walked along, he began to see another man in the distance. As he grew closer, he noticed that the local native kept leaning down, picking something up, and throwing it out into the water. Time and again he kept hurling things out into the ocean. As our friend approached even closer, he noticed that the man was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach and, one at a time, he was throwing them back into the water.

Our friend was puzzled. He approached the man and said “Good evening, Friend. I was wondering what you are doing.”

“I’m throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see, it’s low tide right now and all of these starfish have been washed up onto the shore. If I don’t throw them back into the sea, they’ll die up here from lack of oxygen.”

“I understand,” our friend replied, “but there must be thousands of starfish on this beach. You can’t possibly get to all of them. There are simply too many. And don’t you realize it is probably happening on hundreds of other beaches all up and down the coast. Can’t you see that you can’t possibly make a difference?”

The local native smiled, bent down, and picked up yet another starfish, and as he threw it back into the sea, he replied, “Made a difference to that one!”

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This version of the starfish story is from Jack Canfield’s book, “Chicken Soup for the Soul.” There have been many renditions of it told through the years, but the story was originally told by Loren Eiseley in “The Star Thrower.” (In the book Chicken Soup for the Soul, this story is called, “One at a Time.”)

In which way do you enjoy helping others? Do you recognize the value of your supportive gifts, even when you may not receive direct feedback from others? Do you have any successes or challenges to share regarding feeling overwhelmed?