You can’t save them all
I love a story originally told by Loren Eiseley, which has been adapted a bit.
A grandfather and his granddaughter are walking along the beach after a storm. The sand is littered with thousands of starfish stranded by the tide. They notice a woman walking slowly, picking them up one by one and gently tossing each back into the sea.
The grandfather shakes his head. “There are too many. You can’t possibly save them all.”
The woman picks up another starfish, holds it for a moment, then throws it into the water.
“It made a difference to that one,” she says.
I think of this story often, especially when I feel overwhelmed by the scale of the problems around us: climate change, wars, injustice, and mass polarisation.
Even within organisations I work with, misalignment, lack of trust, and people talking past one another, and I find myself asking: What can I possibly do?
Within my leadership programs, I often touch on the “circle of influence” and the “circle of concern.” The circle of concern holds all the big issues in the world that weigh on us. The circle of influence is much smaller, the people and situations right before us. And yet, that’s where our authentic power lives.
I can’t save all the starfish, as much as I’d want to. But the truth is, I can have an influence on
The person right in front of me
The neighbour I greet
T he tired barista or cashier who lights up when they’re seen
My children, who will remember my tone of voice more than my words.
A colleague who feels overlooked
The friend I finally check in on
A stranger who needs a smile
Myself, when I choose compassion over criticism
We often forget how much power lies in the smallest moments. Not to save everything, but to make one other life lighter: with a smile, a gesture, a little kindness.
It may not feel like enough. But for the person in front of you, it just might be.