The winners code

I have not written anything in my blog for sometime now. Was just browsing through some articles when i came across this eloquently written piece. One of those i think everybody should abide by for the benefit of the greater good. This is definitely meant to be shared. Written by GEORGE CHINGARANDE

Here it goes, The Monitor :: The winners code


"The winners code


A new way of looking at life

Loren Eiseley was a renowned American sociologist who published extensively. In his book The Star Thrower he recounted an incident that happened one day at the beach. He is the old wise man in the story retold below.Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.
He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?" The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean.""I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realise that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"
At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it towards the ocean. When the starfish hit the water he said to the man, "It made a difference for that one."

Never underestimate the magnitude Of your small actions
In the grand scheme of things or the larger picture as contemporary scholars prefer to call it, the actions of the young man were in vain. As the old man correctly pointed out, there were miles and miles of sandy beach and millions upon millions of starfish. The young man could not possibly make a difference. Could it be that there is another way of looking at the situation? Yes, there is.

Let us imagine for a while what happened to the one starfish that was thrown into the ocean and survived.Suppose that it found a partner or even partners of the opposite sex and meted and produced offspring. These offspring also found their partners and meted and also produced their offspring. And as the act of procreation continued from one starfish that survived courtesy of the kindness of the young man millions of other starfish were born.

Therefore, in the grand scheme of things the young man made a big difference to the kingdom of the starfish.We must always remember that our actions go far beyond the four walls of our offices and beyond the mere lives of the people we touch directly. In every seed there is a potential tree, and in every tree there is a forest. However, it is only a discerning person who can realise that there is a forest in every seed. Similarly in every child there is a potential family and in that family there is a tribe or even a nation of people. An act of kindness, a word of encouragement or a helping hand given to the child is actually service rendered to a whole nation of people. In much the same way a brutalisation or shabby treatment of one child is also an act of injustice against a whole nation.
There are many needs and there are many needy people. Practically we cannot individually make a difference in all their lives. It is easy to get discouraged and be cynical. However, it is time to adopt a new perspective. We all need eyes that can see beyond the present, and therefore, spur us to act in a manner that makes a difference in one little life knowing that in the process we may be touching many more lives. We all have opportunities to do this with our customers, subordinates, superiors, friends and different other interlocutors.

Baby steps are the beginning of giant steps
The young man was faced by a colossal problem. In one way or another, at one time or another, all of us will find ourselves faced with mammoth challenges. The millions of starfish that needed help was a staggering challenge for the young man.
He could easily have been paralysed and demoralised if he had looked at the challenge at hand in its stark enormity. The young man saw that the big challenge was made up of numerous small challenges. He could be overwhelmed by the big challenge, but the smaller challenge of one starfish at a time was no match to him. By a mile a journey can be staggering, but by a centimetre and a cinch that same journey becomes manageable.

We all need this ability to chunk down our challenges. For most of us the problem is that we are chunking up our challenges thereby demoralising us and paralysing us into inaction. Challenges have a way of exaggerating themselves, but the young man teaches us that if treat every little chunk different and separately they are actually manageable. As long as we have opportunity, let us do something about our lives on a daily basis no matter how infinitesimally small those actions may appear to be in the eyes of our critics.

You will pass this way only once, if you have an opportunity to teach, then teach with grace. If you have an opportunity to help, then render help with humility. If you have an opportunity to do evil, then refrain from doing so because your act of self-restraint may turn out to be benevolence that saves a nation. In life there are no small actions, but there are many small-minded critics. Let them not deter you."GEORGE CHINGARAND

Out for a bit :)