The Inspiring Legend Of The Boy And The Starfish
There are many researches in which they tried to establish what is the common characteristic of the great men and women who inspired humanity. Everything seems to indicate that the most decisive virtue is perseverance. Many of the great achievements are an inspiring lesson in tenacity and fighting adversity.
Perseverance is a complex virtue, almost a gift. When it is true, it feeds tenacity and willingness in the face of difficulties and obstacles. To be able to maintain this iron will in the face of adversity, it is necessary to know what you want, where you want to go and why. This is usually the result of a process of reflection and character formation.
Anyone who thinks that great deeds take shape from the beginning is wrong. In general, everything starts with a small seed that is watered, it grows, and there comes a time when it takes its own growth path. The legend of the boy and the starfish explains, in a simple way, what this is all about.
An inspiring and realistic legend
Once upon a time there was a man who lived near a beach. Every day, when he woke up, the first thing he did was take a walk in the sand. One day he was very surprised by what he found on his morning walk. There were hundreds of starfish scattered all over the coast. It was very strange. Perhaps bad weather or the November winds were responsible for this phenomenon.
The man regretted the situation. He knew that starfish couldn’t live more than five minutes out of water. All these creatures would soon die, if they weren’t already dead as he walked beside them. “How sad!” he thought. However, no inspiring ideas came to his mind.
As he advanced a little, he saw a boy who was running from one side to the other on the sand. He was agitated and sweaty. “What are you doing?” asked the man. “I’m throwing the stars back into the sea” , replied the boy, who was very tired.
The man thought for a moment. He thought what the boy was doing was absurd. He couldn’t hold back the urge to say what he thought. “What you are doing is useless. I’ve walked a long way and there are thousands of stars. It makes no sense to do this” , he declared. The boy, who had a starfish in his hands, replied: “Ah! It sure makes sense to this one!”
small actions, big deeds
The little legend of the boy and the starfish shows us the value of small actions. Sometimes we can’t see the value of small shares. This happens because our behavior is not focused on values, but on results. It is as if we view the world based on quantity and size, not meaning and essence.
Every great achievement starts with small actions. It is rare for a journey that starts with strides. In fact, beginnings are often hard and costly, so anyone who doesn’t learn to give meaning to a flower is unlikely to find any meaning in nature.
Likewise, whoever ignores the value of a small sacrifice will hardly make sense of the effort. Character tends to grow stronger from small restrictions, from discreet disciplines. The first big obstacle to big dreams is the small skepticism of those around you. Giving meaning to what is small is an inspiring way to live.
Perseverance is, above all, descended from values. It takes great conviction to resist the difficulties and stumbling blocks that are always present when setting a worthy goal. The worst thing is that we often let ourselves be invaded by totalitarian thinking. The one who says that if there is no “everything”, then there is “nothing”. In turn, this mindset is a poison to motivation.
If you relate your big dreams and aspirations to human values, it will be much easier to find the strength you need to move forward. On the other hand, if you focus only on the immediate results, frustration is likely to show up. The great cathedrals were built stone by stone. The inspiring legend of the boy and the starfish tells us that the little one makes sense, and the truth is that it is worth learning to see this way.
