To Be A Starfish Saver
There is that folk tale about the little boy who walked along a beach covered in starfish. Thousands of starfish were stranded but he would pick up one and throw it back; walk some more, pick up another, throw it back. People told him that it was foolish - he couldn't save them all. But he simply stated, "I can save this one."
I need that mentality. I think we all need that mentality. If we look at a problem - poverty, hunger, orphans, refugees, etc., etc. - it's so easy to be overwhelmed. "It's too big." "I can't make any difference." "I'm just one person." These excuses and more keep us from doing anything.
What if we took the boy's attitude? Yes, there are millions of poor people, but can you help one? There are millions of orphans, people who are starving, people who are fleeing their homes. It looks hopeless. But just focus on one.
I can't look at the big picture or I get overwhelmed and depressed. I have to think about one person - one soul - at a time. "I can make a difference to this one." That's all I can do. Just think, if everyone focused on one other person, we would save a lot of people.
I want to be a starfish saver. How about you?
I need that mentality. I think we all need that mentality. If we look at a problem - poverty, hunger, orphans, refugees, etc., etc. - it's so easy to be overwhelmed. "It's too big." "I can't make any difference." "I'm just one person." These excuses and more keep us from doing anything.
What if we took the boy's attitude? Yes, there are millions of poor people, but can you help one? There are millions of orphans, people who are starving, people who are fleeing their homes. It looks hopeless. But just focus on one.
I can't look at the big picture or I get overwhelmed and depressed. I have to think about one person - one soul - at a time. "I can make a difference to this one." That's all I can do. Just think, if everyone focused on one other person, we would save a lot of people.
I want to be a starfish saver. How about you?
I applaud your heart for the poor, hungry, orphans, refugees, etc. I think you definitely have the right motivation, and I’m happy to see it. Since you and I have had a few conversations on this topic, and you’ve said it takes “both mindsets”* to properly handle this discussion, I hope you forgive my inclusion of the “pragmatic” view here. If not, you can just delete it! ;-)
ReplyDelete1) Jesus said, “the poor you will always have with you.” It makes good TV, and gives us a good emotional “high” to be concerned about the problems in other countries, but let’s not forget the poor we have around us. We have to keep in mind that our country’s public policies for attracting and not deporting illegals causes wages to drop in this country, making more poor people here. It’s all well and good to say it’s jobs Americans won’t do, but it may be a job they will do if the wage rates weren’t so distorted due to both unfettered immigration and price controls. Don’t walk past the hurting sand dollars on your way to help the starfish.
2) There’s another parable about a man who helped a butterfly get out of its cocoon, only to discover that the struggle to extract itself is what causes a butterfly’s wings to expand. Since the man helped it, the butterfly’s wings never expanded, and it could never fly. Our public policies, and our private charities, need to first cause no harm. The “War on Poverty” has caused a massive increase in the very thing it was said to be fighting. We’re crippling millions of people with our supposed help. Let’s not cause more starfish to be washed ashore in our efforts to help the first group.
3) You and I have discussed sponsoring refugee families, and at this point, I think I’m on board with most of that plan. What causes problems is brining thousands of people from a different culture to an area must, by definition, change the culture of that area. Some people may think that’s a good idea, that white America has had its turn in the sun, has ruined things for the world, and now needs to go away. If that’s the plan, then people need to own up to it. If I want to save thousands of starfish by bringing them home to my pond, I’m going to have to raise the salinity and the temperature by quite a bit. That doesn’t make things very hospitable for the freshwater trout already living in my pond. Remember, the boy in the story put the starfish back in their original, native habitat.
You are absolutely right to notice the suffering of peoples all over the place, and you are absolutely right to have the mindset “what can I do”. Just remember to start with the people right around you. Effecting changes for masses of people in far off lands necessitates moving nations to act, and large changes in policy, that invariably cause unintended consequences for other peoples, including your own.
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* I'm starting to wonder what we are calling each of these mindsets! ;) Let's not fall into the trap of calling one of them the "compassionate" one, and the other the "pragmatic" one, implying that pragmatic=callous. Wanting a course of action to have the intended result without unseen harms can be just as compassionate. It can also lead to "analysis paralysis" and cause a failure to act at all, which is just as bad.
Maybe you and I should pick a project to work on together? :)