Small steps can make BIG differences. All too often we are overwhelmed by issues, we feel we can do nothing to help when maybe all it takes are small steps to initiate some change. We see and hear about enormous islands of rubbish and plastic floating in the ocean and the devastating effect this has on our marine life. We see horrific pictures of birds dying through starvation as they are not able to feed due to bits of plastic impeding them and whales full of plastic. What can we do about this? Surely this problem is too big for me as an individual to make any sort of a difference. But, every time we take our reusable bags to the supermarket that is one bag less to pollute our landfills and oceans. Every time we take our reusable coffee cups to café’s that is less plastic to pollute our environment.
Bees
We now have a serious world-wide problem with dying bees and decreasing bee populations. Without bees our agriculture would suffer, bees pollinate plants. It has been estimated that approximately one third of our global food supply is pollinated by bees. Really they provide a free pollinating service to our farmers so are a vital part of our food supply. Also life would be somewhat dull without colourful flowers and plants again pollinated by bees. Let’s stop using toxic sprays that kill bees and plant flowers to help support and feed them. Again small steps that can have big positive outcomes.
Let’s finish with the Star Fish Story adapted from The Star Thrower, by Loren Eiselsy (1907-1977).
A man was walking along the beach one morning as he did most days. A big storm had passed through the day before and left the beach covered in starfish, hundreds of starfish as far as the eye could see. Away in the distance the old man spotted a young boy bending down, picking up something and throwing it into the ocean. As the boy came closer the man called out asking what the boy was doing? The young boy paused, looked up and replied “throwing starfish back into the ocean. The storm has washed them up onto the beach and if left here they will surely die as they cannot return to the ocean by themselves.” The old man replied “but there are thousands of starfish on the beach, you really won’t be able to make much of a difference”
The boy bent down and picked up another starfish and threw it into the ocean. He turned to the man and said “I made a difference to that one, and that one” as he threw yet another starfish into the ocean.
We can all be that boy, throwing back one starfish at a time, not letting big seemly unsurmountable tasks overwhelm us. We too can make a difference. Think today what can I do to make a positive change to my family, world and environment 🙂