It Made A Difference To That One

One day a man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day.

Off in the distance he could see a young boy going back and forth between the surf's edge and and the beach.

Back and forth the boy went.

As the man approached, he could see that there were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the natural action of the tide.

The man was struck by the the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to die.

As he approached, the boy continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them back into the sea.

As he came up to the boy he said, "You must be crazy ! There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. You can't possibly make a difference."

The boy looked at the man. He then bent down and picked up one more starfish, and threw it back into the sea. He turned back to the man and said,

"But it made a difference to that one"

I hope you guys don't mind if I get a little personal in this post. I came across this poem back in my early high school years and I have always loved reading it. If only we all thought and acted more like this boy. I am a big dreamer at heart and have always dreamt of being a hero to many. However, as I go through life, I feel so small and so powerless and feel like I will never make a difference. Who am I in this great big world and how can I possibly make a difference when I am just one little man trying to find my own way through life. As photographers sometimes, it is very difficult to balance family life and running a business. Often we give so much of ourselves to running the business, that before we know it, our kids are grown and we missed out on so much of their childhood. I have come to that very conclusion this year and it breaks my heart to think I could've been a better dad and been more involved in "making the difference" in their lives. So this year, I have started doing something I haven't done since I started up this business. I have started to work smarter and only work 5 days per week. Sundays and Mondays are now dedicated to making the difference in my families lives. Dedicated to creating the memories that I often took for granted. I challenge each of us to slow down and really put our priorites towards the things that really matter. Let us look down at our feet as we race through the days and notice those little ones who love us so unconditionally despite our faults, and let us reach out like the boy and make a difference to those ones.