An old man was walking along a beach when he came upon a small boy picking things up from the sand and gently tossing them into the ocean.
When the man got close he said to the boy, “What is it you’re trying to do?”
The boy gently scooped up another small object and tossed it into the water. “I’m throwing these starfish back into the ocean. The surf’s up and the tide’s going out. If I don’t throw them back they’ll die.”
The man laughed and said, “Kid, don’t you realize there are miles of coast and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make any difference!”
The boy stooped down and picked up another starfish and tossed it into the surf. He gave the man a glowing smile and said, “I made a difference for that one.”
Many times in our lives, it feels like we’re a very small cog in a very large wheel. We are but one of 350 million Americans and 7 billion people spread out across our tiny blue planet in an infinite cosmos. It’s easy to feel we don’t truly have an impact in the grand scheme of things, that we’re merely extras in the film that is a modern existence.
But the truth is, we have a much larger impact on the world around us and the people around us than we may realize. You don’t have to be the President to try and make the world a better place. Sometimes, just by showing kindness and humanity we can thoroughly change someone else’s world for the better.
I’d like to share with you a touching story of someone who made such an impact on the life of a young girl, through no great heroic act, but simply by showing their humanity.
This young woman had a rough home life, living with her divorced single-mother who was in active opiate and benzodiazepine addiction. School was no picnic for her either, though she was intelligent enough to learn the material and do well in her classes. One day a female classmate, her rival in class, got gum stuck in her hair and she was chosen to walk the other girl to her house from school.
The two bonded that day and quickly developed a strong connection with one another. The young girl often found herself in the home of her new friend along with her friend’s parents and older sister. In this home, she had found the family atmosphere she was longing for and the familial bonds she had wanted for herself.
Her new friend’s mother and father simply included her as one of the family. They didn’t try and council her in dealing with her mother or try and help her in any other way but through their inclusion, support and love. As the young girl grew up, she remained close with her best friend and grew to know her friend’s mother and father as an adult, always retaining the gratitude she felt for their love and hospitality.
She got to spend lots of time with the father she always wanted toward the end of his life, enjoying his company in his element; watching his favorite old movies and sci-fi shows, sitting with him on his patio with his pipe in his hand or enjoying great home-cooked meals together.
She also got to be with him at the very end of his life when he sailed on from this existence to the next. She told him again how grateful she was to have had him in her life, how he was the greatest man she’d ever known, and how she hopes to meet him again some day in whatever comes next.
This young girl turned out to be my mom and this man was Herbert Mandel, the late father of Manchester Ink Link Editor Carol Robidoux. As I write this it brings tears to my eyes, just knowing the amazing impact this man had on my mom’s life and how much joy he and his family brought to her otherwise fairly-dark childhood existence.
I’m fortunate enough to have met Herbert as well, to have been in his home and filled it with music on a couple of occasions. I’m also glad my mom taught me to express your love and appreciation for the people in your life, as she always made it known to Herbert just how special he was to her.
Thank you for allowing me to share this with you, because I think it goes to show that sometimes we’re making a profound impact on the lives of people around us without even realizing it. These two wonderful parents, Herbert and Ann Mandel, simply opened their home to a young girl in need and made her feel included and accepted.
Of course I’m not saying that everyone should go adopt a neighborhood kid as one of their own, but I am saying that just by being kind, showing compassion, and by being conscious of the wellbeing or suffering of the people around us, both large and small, we can have a rippling effect that radiates outward from one young girl, to her child, to her family and friends.
And hopefully this article has touched you in some way that perhaps might lead to more love and awareness for others in your own life. You can make a difference today, just by being that which we all are “human.”
So please, show your humanity and make the world a better place, one smile or laugh at a time.
Fran Pannulla is a 32-year-old son, brother, aspiring writer and life enthusiast from Philadelphia, PA. When not doing recovery-related things through www.smartrecovery.org, you can find him talking to strangers, jamming to music, reading about world events, getting his learn on, or just overall trying to enjoy everything this life has to offer in a positive and healthy way. You can contact him at pannullafr@gmail.com.
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