Britta's Letters from her life divided between city-life in German's capital Berlin and life in a Bavarian village

Saturday 6 February 2016

Starfish politics


©Brigitta Huegel


I was always fascinated by this little story by an unknown author which I found in an anthology of Celia Haddon.

An old man walking the beach at dawn noticed a young man ahead of him picking up starfish and flinging them into the sea. Catching up with the youth he asked what he was doing. 
'The starfish will die if they are still on the beach when the sun roasts them with its mid-morning heat,' came the answer. 
'But the beach goes on for miles, and there are millions of starfish,' countered the old man. 'How can your effort make any difference?' 
The young man looked at the starfish in his hand and then threw it to safety in the waves. 
'It makes a difference to this one', he said. 

That is a good answer, I think (regardless of whether it is biological truth or not).
So many people want to save the whole world. They have big words of scorn for what is going on.
And then they are not even able to keep peace in blogland, mistrusting and misunderstanding almost deliberately to find a cause of 'not getting involved'.
I am not a dreamer - I don't think that the world is all harmony - it never was.
I believe in helping a bit - and if many do that, the world will become a bit better.
Not perfect - but better.




16 comments:

  1. There are more things in heaven and earth than most people are aware of. More things than people with closed minds can ever be aware of.

    Your story reminds me a time I was walking along a beach in Cyprus. I found dead turtle cast onto the shore by the waves. The turtle had suffocated, it's head was trapped inside a plastic sandwich wrapper. The tide was on the turn and I thought it right that even a dead turtle should be returned to the sea, a burial at sea so to speak. At second or third attempt I managed to throw the turtle far enough into the waves that it
    floated away from the shore. But that's not the end of the story.
    The following day I went to the same spot and sat on a rock and reflected on the events of the previous day. An inner voice told me to pick up a round a particular stone nearby, one stone amongst thousands. Over the years I have learnt to pay attention to such messages. On the stone was a natural pattern on the stone which strongly resembled a turtle riding on a wave, it's head and neck above the water as if looking for something . . .

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    1. What we are doing with our loads of plastic wrappings (though I try I cannot escape them - so much unnecessary waste!). Interesting that the turtle as Spirit Animal or totem is not only a symbol for peace, but is interpreted as a hint to "a peaceful relationship with our environment.
      Courageous to throw it back!
      As to the stone: you know by certain that the I Ching trigrams were said to be discovered by Hsi Fu, first emperor of China, on the back of a turtle.

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  2. . . . maybe it is turtles all the way down :-).

    I read in Cyprus that men had been removing sand from beaches to build golf courses and the turtles would eventually run out of places to lay their eggs. As I left the island, the headline in the last newspaper was: Ten New Golf Courses for Cyprus!

    It's tragic.

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    1. Greed is without consideration of anything - and because a few people not are able to get enough, they let the world choke to death.

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  3. It is a world more loud and shrill than is necessary. For many the internet makes it too easy to add an anonymous bit of rancor. Sad.

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    1. You said it! Anonymity gives them the feeling of being strong.

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  4. Amen, and again, Amen!
    If I don't try, nothing will happen. My trying doesn't have to be huge to make a difference. Right now it is all about the refugees and people would rather see a family stay back, living in terror and danger than make a difference for that one family.....because 'there are just so many'. Who knows what accomplishments one of the children might achieve - what contribution to our country? Like you, I believe in helping a little bit, as much as I can.

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    1. I believe that is the reason, Pondside. Maybe the idea of "so many" makes people feel overwhelmed and motionless. Pity - because a little helps a long way.
      And I think that for the first time in my generation people see what they till now could forget easily - war was far away, hunger too. Now the victims are in our cities, and it becomes less easy to look away.

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  5. How true Britta .... better a few than none at all ........ something that we could all put into practice in one way or another. We should all help in some way or other ..... if we all do a little it turns into something HUGE. XXXX

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    1. Yes, it applies to many things. Interesting: when something gets difficult (a train stops because of snow) people start to talk to each other and help.

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  6. You are in Germany and I am in California. Your kindness makes a difference to me. You set a good example to the world --the effect is ampliative.

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    1. Geo., you cannot imagine how much your kind words mean to mean, thank you! Being an example - I don't know. But I try to use sense and sensibility.

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  7. This is where one act of random kindness comes into play. To do an act of kindness when the opportunity presents itself is the truest way to solve the problems of the world. If each person in the world would perform only one kindness each day we would at the very least live in a much nicer world.

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    1. The world would be nicer, I agree with you, Emma. Somtimes I think it is the anonymity of the huge numbers which makes everyone think: Why I? In little communities it might be easier to be seen (and watched) - and knowing whom to help.

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  8. You have hit the nail on the head Britta - small things all help in the big scheme of things.

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    1. Oh, I just discovered this comment, Elaine - thank you and sorry for answering so late. Two friends of mine had their CD-release last weekend - the CD is called "Little Things" - and really: often these make happiness.

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