By Sylvester Oluoch
A tale is told of a village that kissed the Sea. Storms were frequent in this village. One day after a storm, a young man was walking along the shore, and he noticed starfish strewn offshore – stretching as far as his eyes could see.
The young man, being gifted with a great deal of personal initiative, took upon himself to save the lives of the starfish. He pictured the starfish all perishing as soon as they were “fried’ with enough sunshine, and he was not going to stand aside and watch that happen.
An old man happened to be walking the beach at the same time. Seeing a young man bending to the ground, picking something, and hulling into the Ocean triggered his curiosity. When he got close enough, he realized that the youth was picking starfish and throwing them back into the water.
In a mixture of wonder and sheer dismissal at the youth’s inexperience and nuanced sense of reality, he asked:
“What are you doing?”
“I am saving these starfish.” Answered the lad.
Then the old man wisely counseled the boy:
There are thousands of these starfish along this shore. This shore stretches many miles. However hard you try, you cannot cover the entire shore, and save these starfish. Listen son, I have been walking this shore regularly for over 10 years. Perhaps millions of these starfish have died. However hard you try; you will never make a difference.
The youth, still undeterred, reached the ground, picked one starfish, and threw it back into the expansive ocean.
Then with a willy timid smile, he said: “I have made a difference to that one. Haven’t I”
The biggest lessons from this experience can best be drawn out using six questions:
What can you do? First, understand that as an individual, there is something you were sent this way by your creator to do. Identify it. Know your purpose then set out to get started towards that purpose. If your calling is to be a teacher, teach well enough that history chronicles your work as remarkable and if you be a mason, let all those who seek mansions count on the work of your hand.
Who should you avoid? Once you know your purpose, look out for the people you can partner with. While doing this, take a great deal of care to forestall the naysayers and the wet blankets that have years of experience in stealing people’s dreams. If that lad considered the old man’s counsel as wise, just because of his advanced age, he could not make a difference in the life of the starfish.
When should you do it? There is never a better time to get started than now. Get going with what you have now. You will do better when you get more experience. Always “act now.”
Where do you start? Start where you are. Understand the time-space reality. You can only do something where you are. Work accomplishes everything.
How can you do it? The skill set you have is always adequate to get started on your idea. When specialized knowledge is required along the way, you will always get willing helpers. The generous hand of fate will bring them your way – nature favors the bold.
Why do you have to do it? This is the biggest question. Once you answer this question and your reason for making this universe better is big enough, you will make big contributions. The law of attraction is so legislated by nature that every contribution is paid back one way or another. Sometimes it is a long shot, but ultimately, just like homing pigeons, all acts always come home.
The way to make the world a better place – and in our case – Africa more prosperous, let us choose what we are going to do for Africa and then undertake to do it. And it does not hurt to start in a small way. Be bold, however small your steps, take one step at a time and you will look back and see how much you did for your family, your community, your country and your continent. And how that ultimately beautifies the universe.
“Be a bush if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a highway, just be a trail. If you can’t be a sun, be a star. For it isn’t by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.” MLK Jr.
