How much do we all go through life wanting desperately to know what we can do to make a difference? But, how can I do anything lasting that really makes the world a little better?
There's the old story about tossing starfish back into the ocean after they washed up. That stark image of being able to save a few from sure death resonates with me in so many ways.
First, there are so many things crying out needing attention, only I can't do them all. It's a matter of picking and choosing, even if the real reason I pick a certain starfish is because it was random. In the story, the little boy didn't form a grid pattern to move the most starfish in the most efficient manner, he just started grabbing them and tossing them. There's no reasoning to his step, grab, throw method of life-saving. He just chucks the next one and the next one back in grabbing at random.
When I was a kid, I made some of my best friends through this same principal of utter randomness. We went to school together, we were in the same class, we sat next to each other, and we were the same age. That's it. Nothing more bound us together. The older I get, the more random it seems.
But, that's the truth, sometimes the biggest differences we make in the world seem completely random.