You have probably heard the story about the man who was throwing starfish that had washed up on shore following a storm back into the ocean as an observer stated that he could not make a difference when there were tens of thousands of starfish dying on the beach. The man simply threw another one back into the ocean and said, it made a difference to that one!
I had that exact opportunity on my birthday this year at Kitty Hawk Pier in NC. As I was walking down the beach, my friend Mary and I noticed something moving in the sand in front of us. Upon further inspection, we realized that it was a living Sea Horse that had washed up on shore as the tide receded. After quickly taking a picture, I carefully scooped up the Sea Horse along with a hand full of sand and placed it back in the ocean. As I did, we both said, made a difference to that one.
Not only had I never seen a Sea Horse outside of an aquarium, I had never seen one on the beach before. How cool was that for a birthday experience?
One if life’s lessons is that you can never reach down to help someone up without helping yourself reach up at the same time.