The Boy and the Starfish.

Every individual you're willing to save will matter.

Have you heard of this childhood story before?

A wonderful person I recently got to know actually shared this story with me. It was just this morning at that.

She was quite thankful that we could spend time chatting about some of the things going on in her life.

She told me that our time speaking together reminded her of this story.

Somehow I've never heard this story before.

And let me tell you, it struck me at the core.

I have been feeling that I'm still not doing enough.

I started this blog and www.iash.sg last year in an effort to reach more people struggling out there.

But I've always felt like there was more to be done.

"There are so many people struggling out there, I'll never be able to help them", were thoughts at times.

When this person shared this story with me - it suddenly brought me back to the ground.

It made me realise that - I'm already doing my best. I'm just one single human being trying to do the best that I can.

It also helped me to remember WHY I'm doing WHAT I'm doing.

That it's not about me at all.

It's not about whether I've done enough not.

It's about focusing on the individual lives that I can be impacting, bit by bit.

Making a difference is NOT about the big changes or grand achievements.

The difference doesn't come when we successful make some kind of grand fundamental change in society.

It doesn't come around from sitting on some chair and dreaming up grand plans either.

It doesn't have to be some far off plan in the future too.

Because really, to make a difference, it has to start from the ground, on an individual to individual level. And it has to start today.

We can all mean something.

No difference is ever too small. No act of kindness is fruitless.

You and I can be the difference in someone's life.

A small donation.

A kind word to a stranger.

Giving a friend your time to listen in.

And the fact is, there will be ripple effects from the work you do.

The person you save will go on and save others. You can be rest assured of that.

For example, some of the people we've talked to through iash.sg have come onboard themselves wanting to help others.

And then they start bringing their friends to come join in too.

It then becomes a community - a community of individuals who are ever expanding, through impacting individual after individual.

I like to imagine us as a group of starfishes dancing together in the ocean :)

So how about that? You ready? Let's go.

Time to go save a starfish yes?

Take care friend,

Hernping