Making a Difference

Act as if what you do makes a difference.  It does.  

-William James 

 

The Starfish Thrower is a famous adaptation of a story written by American anthropologist and nature writer Loren Eiseley. I feel in love with the story ever since my father read it to me a long ten years back. Most of you probably know it already. But I can say from personal experience, this is one story where it does not matter if you have read it previously or not.

“One day, a man walking down a beach early in the morning, saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of another man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" he asked, somewhat startled.

"The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

"But, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are thousands of starfish all along every mile? Then there are beaches all over the world. You can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it sailed in one wide arc and met the water, he simply commented, "Well, it made a difference to that one."”

Every time I read it, I get new courage to move on in life. Because I understand what it means to make a difference to a life. I do not need to change the world. But if can positively affect a single person in my lifetime, in a way no one else could have, I think will die a happy person.

Touch someone’s life today. You never know how small a gesture can have how big an impact. Stay happy and thank you for stopping by. See you again! 

Passion

 Passion  /ˈpæʃən/ noun  strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something.

A learned friend recently gave me a Latin word to translate. Ardate. A little bit of thought lead me to the word ardent. And a little bit of research showed that I was pretty close. The Latin word root is ard, and ‘ardate’ literally translates as “to burn”.

As in to have passion. To be passionate.

Passion is to love something so much that it becomes a part of you. Something, which plays the rhythm of your heart beats and the music of your soul. It is something you will die for.

Passionate means you will live for it, as well.

Passion is something, which gives you heaven and hell in equal measure. Heaven, because it’s who you are. Hell, because you will always be left with an insatiable craving for more.

Passionate means to be unable to decide which is it, your sweetest dream or your worst nightmare.

Passion is to realise what you are passionate about. Then go out there and give your heart and soul to it.

Passionate means to know you can give some more when you have nothing else to give.

Passion is to live a lifetime in the space of a few moments. Because your passion is the reason for you existence. Not because you are the only one. Not because you are the best in it. But simply because you would not have been complete without it.

Passionate means to know neither would it have been complete without you.

Passion is to know that your number one enemy is Ridicule. And number two is You. It is to know that sometimes one and two can even swap places.

Passionate is to know how to ignore one of them, and reassure the other.

Passion is to realise that you are among a handful of blessed people lucky to have a passion. It is to realise that there is a majority who do not believe in passion, mainly because they don’t have one themselves.

Passionate to know that you can be simple with a passion, but you will be mediocre without one.

Passion is your shot at insanity in a world that is too cruelly sane.

Passion is to inspire others. And yourself.

Be passionate.

In Love

"Come, Philander, let us be a marching, Every one his true love a searching..."

                                                                   -Louisa May Alcott
An Old Fashioned Girl

A friend of mine is walking around dreamy-eyed. Yes, it’s the usual diagnosis. He’s is in love. Literally drowning in it. Well, almost. Considering the minor details such as he does not know whether the lady in question is even aware of his existence or not. And the fact that given his current state in the affairs (he blushes violently at the mention of her name), he will probably need a few shots from the bottle just to have enough courage to say hi to her.

Being “responsible” friends, we gave him a verbal douche bath. To bring him back to earth, we said. And to remind him of those small, afore mentioned details. I liked the way he took our words with infantile meekness, turned around, and went on mooning over “his girl” with undampened ardour. We gave up after 30 minutes of hearing him praise her. Actually, it was when she walked past our group lounging on the stairs, that we knew that we had lost the battle.

Looking at the beatific expression that that suffused his face suddenly made me realise a very hard fact. I miss being in love. I miss the heady feeling that comes with it. The automatic gut-wrench when the object of your admiration is near. My last encounter with this aspect of human emotions had not really been a great one. We had ended with a lot less love than what we had started out with and from then I had been on a self-imposed sabbatical from the pink-heart-shaped stuff. That is why perhaps it took me by surprise. The fact that I actually miss it, that is. The plans, the dreams (and the merciless ribbing, yes, that too!). The intricate designs and last minute change of routes just so you can catch a glimpse or have a word. I miss the utter silliness of it. I miss going around with a stupid grin on my face, as if the entire sunshine of existence is on my shoulders.  But most of all, I think I miss the fact that it takes you out of yourself into some other plane that people in love (like my friend right now) seem to exist in. The wonderful way it beautifies everything around you. The warm fuzzy feeling that seems to tell you, that everything’s all right with the world.

My friend is suddenly finding the April skies bluer than usual. For his sake, I hope that they don’t turn grey for a long, long time to come. For mine, I am kind of hoping my turn comes again, soon. Blue skies and pretty flowers or not, I just want to get back to the times when the world seems to revolve around a single person. And as of now, I must go and see to a hapless Romeo who wants to know how to ask a girl for her number.

(Oh, one more thing, when she passed us on the stairs, she waved, which solved the million dollar question on whether she knew that he existed or not.)

Stay in love, people, nothing beats it. In the meantime, stay happy. See you again!