My ancestors spoke in metaphor, and though I know little of those stories I feel them in my voice as I relate my life's knowing.
Through the ages natives of all cultures used symbol in story. All good stories contain a lesson, a memory. Hieroglyphics is story in character. Cave dwellers used pigment to paint on walls with their hands leaving history and myths. Scriptures share lessons in parable.
A long way from my country of birth, far from my Maori tribe, within the Canadian state of Alberta through an unspoken invitation I sat in silence while the old men of the tribe smoked their pipes. As the smoke wove heavenwards through the fir trees of the forest, I felt the story, the safety of my invitation and without a sound, in silence the initiation. Unexplainable joy, a memory that will travel to the grave and beyond.
Elders through generations share fireside stories of both known and ancestral times, and we in conversation at the barbecue, our family table, social events and in cafés expand our universe by opening our minds to what was and what could be.
The best of all stories are those that leave an indelible impression, a lesson that never leaves us, that help us grow emotionally and spiritually to be a better person because someone shared a story that had meaning.
This is one of those!
One day a man was walking along the beach, when he noticed a boy hurriedly picking up and gently throwing things into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “Young man, what are you doing?” The boy replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.” The man laughed to himself and said, “Don’t you realise there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make any difference!”
After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said, “I made a difference to that one.”
Author unknown.
I shared an outline of this story recently in one of our online sessions and afterwards, someone on the other side of our world asked for it so here is it.
A story with a meaningful lesson travels far.
As you expand your life’s work remember your message may not reach everyone but when you work from your authentic self, your voice and influence will make a difference, somewhere!
SYLVIA MARINA
Speaker, Author, Educator, Mentor. Healing Intergenerational Trauma & Cultural Wounds