“Be the change you want to see in the world.” -Mahatma Gandhi
How many times have you heard that an individual can’t make a difference? How many times the tales of the crusaders been ridiculed by the masses as leap of fortune not worth emulating. Yet contradictions to conventions keep springing to the surface mocking the agnostics.
No two snowflakes are alike; we all can be the catalysts of change if only we believe. Here is an interesting story(Starfish Story) I read in ”Star Thrower,” a collection of essays by the naturalist and writer Loren Eiseley 1978.
One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, ‘What are you doing?’ The youth replied, ‘Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.’
‘Son,’ the man said, ‘don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish?
You can’t make a difference!’
After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said…‘I made a difference for that one.’
So next time when some one asks why sow in a sapling, it can’t contain pollution or when someone asks why caress a stray, they can’t all be adopted… you know what to believe in.
Always remember that it is one song that can herald rain, it is one step that starts a journey and it is one life that can bring about a change. In the words of Peter Roebuck, ‘Spirit is the difference between cement and ice. One lasts the course, the other goes to water when the heat is on.’
May you be the difference!
Before I part, I would like to share with you this clip featuring the Crocodile Hunter ‘Steve Irwin’ with background score from John Denver.
What one man can do is dream
What one man can do is love
What one man can do is change the world
And make it young again
Here you see what one man can do.
Drawing parallels to this story, a 9-year-old kid from Philippines has established a dog shelter of his very own right out of his dad’s garage.
Ken may be a young kid but he knows what it means to be a human in true essence. Ever since pictures of him feeding stray dogs went viral in February, strangers from all over the world have helped him achieve his dream of establishing a no-kill animal shelter – Happy Animals Club. He is helping stray dogs on the street recover from their many diseases and illnesses and hopefully find a loving home.
“My dad told me it would take a lot of money and 20 years for me to get an animal shelter. He said only grown ups can raise enough money to start an animal shelter,” Ken explains on his website. “Some very kind people who saw these pictures donated money to help me care for the dogs. We got enough money to get the dogs I was feeding off the street, feed them high quality canned food, and provide them with veterinary care. They gained a LOT of weight, their open wounds healed, and their fur grew back. They also learned not to be scared of humans.”
To donate to Ken’s shelter, Happy Animals Club, visit https://happyanimalsclub.org
Still wondering what one man can do?
good one!