Ready for a story that might just change your life? You know that feeling you get, when synchronicity throws something at you 3 times in as many days? Well that’s why I have to share this story with you.
I have “accidentally” stumbled across this story in the strangest and most unpredictable of places in the last few days.
It reached me at a point where I had been making a massive effort to help people, but everything seemed to be going wrong!
And it helped me decide to “adopt a starfish mentality”.
My invitation to you today is to read the story and then see if a “starfish mentality” might work for you, too!
A wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.
Time to adopt a starfish mentality?
One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a person in the distance, dancing. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance on the beach in the morning. So he walked faster to catch them up and say hello.
As he got closer, he noticed the dancer was a young man, and that he wasn’t actually dancing. He was reaching down to the beach, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the sea.
The man approached and asked the young man what he was doing.
The young man paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the water.”
“Why are you throwing starfish into the sea?” came the surprised response.
The young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. Unless I throw them in, they will die.”
Upon hearing this, the wise man said, “But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all the way along? You can’t possibly make a difference!”
The young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it reached the water he said, “I made a difference for that one.”
For me, this story is about spreading miracles.
You never know the impact a simple action might have in someone else’s life.
I remember a former work colleague, a friend of mine, back in my “employed” days, who was always incredibly patient with me, as I was learning the basics of web design and code writing. I would go back to him, day after day, with exactly the same question. I had a total mental block on “code”. Yet he always patiently explained, again and again, what I needed to know. He never showed irritation or impatience. And eventually I learned.
I left that employer to start my own business, over a decade ago. And websites have always been core to my work. Over the years, I have created various personal development sites. A few months ago, we did a quick tot-up and realised that the inspirational resources on these sites had touched the lives of over 3 million people across the world, over that time.
And I suddenly realised that none of it would have happened, had my former colleague not taken the time to be patient and help me build up my skills and confidence. Without him, I never would have dared to utilise the internet to spread the articles and resources I was creating.
I suspect he had no idea where his kindness was going to lead. But I’m certainly one starfish who is really pleased to have been thrown back into the sea!
Is there someone in your life who has made a difference to you through a simple act of kindness?
How about taking a moment to thank them, right now?
You could send them an email. You could give them a call. You could write them a letter. Or even tell them via the comments box! 😉
I “accidentally” ended up on a live call with Wayne Dyer last night.
Actually, I don’t really believe in “coincidence” – I believe everything happens for a reason. But it did seem strange that it happened with such synchronicity.
I had just been through a challenging evening of high emotions and I was feeling in need of some inspiration to help me get back on track.
So a live call with Wayne seemed Heaven-sent.
Anyway, I listened for an hour, half-absent-mindedly, while I fiddled away with some graphics work in the background… until he said one phrase that seemed to jump out of the airwaves and bosh me in the face like a wet salmon leaping out of a Scottish river:
It’s not about being better than anyone else.
It’s about being better than you used to be.
Wayne Dyer
It woke me up.
The “old me” would have wallowed in the drama for as long as she could stretch it out.
She would have made sure that she milked the hurt and pain for everything it was worth.
Wayne’s single phrase kicked me out of that auto-pilot pattern.
It enabled me to press the “pause” button – to catch my breath for a moment and choose whether that was a path I really wanted to go down.
Fortunately I chose to go down another path – one that was more peaceful and grounded.
And that’s the thing with our habitual responses – our “auto-pilot scripts”.
We don’t realise we’re running them until our casualties are lying around us and it’s nearly too late to change things.
The great thing is that we can always change direction.
Here are 3 simple steps you can take:
Cultivate awareness of our auto-pilot scripts
Detach from the drama – let go of whatever it is we’re “gaining” from the emotions and drama
In each and every moment, be prepared to make other choices. Just because we’ve discovered we’re on a path we don’t really want, it doesn’t mean we have to keep walking it.
To allow this strategy to work, it’s essential to let go and forgive ourselves, if we feel we have made mistakes. Otherwise we’ll just keep making them – and that won’t make anyone happy…
So next time you spot yourself running an auto-pilot script that is no longer servingyour highest good (or that of those around you!), how about playing with those 3 steps?
And do remember to pop back here and share your comments and experiences!
Namaste,
Clare
Every Friday we share our Daily Sunshine with you – as a special treat! It’s usually only available to Silver & Gold members of The Transformation Club.
“Think one person can’t make a difference? Try spending the night in a room with a mosquito.”
Paraphrasing Gandhi!
Most of us have a deep, inner calling to make a difference to the world.
Yet it can be so easy to fall into the trap of thinking “I can’t make a difference” or “who am I to take this on?”.
We all know how it works: it’s as though a fear of failure – or perhaps the even greater fear of success – keeps us from diving in and doing what we feel truly called to do. Sometimes the calling is so strong that ignoring it can lead to us feeling down and can even create “dis-ease” on a physical level.
We can put off stepping onto our “real path” for years, waiting until we feel “ready”. But the catch is: we rarely feel “ready”.
There will always be someone who knows more than you. There will always be someone who has more experience than you. There will always be someone who seems to have got there first.
Yet each of us can make a difference to the world – starting today. If we wait till we’re “ready”, there are so many people who will have missed out on what we have to share. Whatever your dream, whatever your calling, there’s no point in waiting till the circumstances are perfect – they never will be!
You don’t have to dive in to start – you can just dip your toe in the water.
The great thing is we don’t have to start with the big stuff.
We can start with the baby steps that make a difference to the world, one breath at a time.
Even sharing a smile with someone could lift their mood (and yours!) and start making a difference to the world.
Perhaps you could perform a random act of kindness, without expectation of gratitude or anything in return?
The amazing thing is that these baby steps soon build momentum. It becomes easier to see ways in which we – as individuals – could make a difference.
And then taking action becomes something we have to do – overcoming any fears or feelings of inadequacy.
If you have a secret yearning to make a difference to the world, one of the best ways to start is to share that yearning with someone.
It can be hard to open up and tell friends and loved ones, perhaps for fear of ridicule or embarrassment.
So I’m offering you a helping hand.
If you want to change the world – and want to tell someone about it – how about telling me? Making that commitment to get started or up your game is so much easier, if there’s someone there to acknowledge your courage. If you want to go public, you could post your dream on in the comments section for this post.
If you have a friend or family member you could tell, do so! Choose someone who you know will react supportively. Stepping onto your path might take less courage than you think, if you build a good support team around you.
The world needs you now. And you will never be more ready than in this moment.
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
Desmond Tutu
So often, when embarking on a journey of personal growth, we fall into the trap of believing that we are supposed to be neutral about everything – without attachments or preferences. We are often taught by “Gurus” and “experts” that this is the path to a more enlightened life.
Yet, if we witness events that are unjust or morally wrong – whatever that means to us – simply standing by and remaining neutral, taking no action, is like moving out of the way to let an oppressor pass.
This is what happens when we know our personal Truth, but hide it away so no one can see it. Then we don’t have to make a difference in the world.
Just imagine what the world would be like today if people like Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela had chosen to remain neutral?
Sometimes standing up to be counted is the hardest thing to do, but it is the only thing that will ever create the progress and growth that society needs.
We can still pass on our message and take action with love, compassion and maturity.
But not passing on our message – or standing in our power – is even more of a waste than having no message or power.
Is there somewhere your message needs to get today?
You never know, it might just change your world.
Wishing you a day full of sunshine and laughter.
Namaste,
Clare
P.S. Want to get your Daily Sunshine straight to your inbox? Here’s where to sign up – it’s free : http://www.DailySunshine.com
I was working with a client recently who is talented, quick-thinking and highly motivated, but also feeling miserable, frustrated and stressed.
It didn’t take much probing to discover that an out-of-date belief of “life has to be hard work” was causing much of the problem.
What we believe is what we get.
The thing is that our beliefs are like choices that get stuck in time. Once we’ve made them, instead of setting us free, they close the doors to other choices – to other responses.
That’s why even a so-called “empowering belief” is limiting. When things change, then even that old empowering belief could hold you back from your growth and expansion!
So if a “good” belief can do that, just imagine how much a “bad” one can do!
The great news is that we can change our beliefs.
They’re far from being set in stone.
There are techniques we can use to dissolve away the old belief and choose more flexibility and freedom in our life.
So if you catch yourself doing, saying ot thinking something that no longer “fits” for you today, all you need to do is catch yourself at this game and allow yourself to choose another option.
Have you ever spotted your beliefs holding you back? How about sharing your experiences via the comments, below?
