We are recognising more and more that there is something powerful about reaching out and helping others. Research suggests that the acts of kindness and reaching out to help others promotes physiological changes in the brain which are linked to happiness and a sense of purpose, which obviously positively affects our wellbeing. Helping others also opens up opportunities for us to build relationships; not only can we meet new people and make new friends, but it can also help us to strengthen and build on existing relationships. Helping others also helps us to connect to the communities around us and develops our sense of belonging. There is much evidence that suggests that face-to-face activities, such as volunteering for a charity or at the local food bank, can help reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation; not only for those we are helping, but also for ourselves.
We don’t have to do a grandiose, humanitarian act of kindness for this to be the case. Just reaching out to help one person in a small way can make all the difference for them; and not only for them but for us too.
I hope this little story will encourage you to reach out, even to help one stranded individual…
The Starfish Story
An old man was walking on the beach one morning after a storm.
In the distance, he could see someone moving like a dancer.
As he came closer, he saw that it was a young woman picking up starfish and gently throwing them into the ocean.
“Young lady, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?”
“The sun is up, and the tide is going out, and if I do not throw them in they will die,” she said.
“But young lady, do you not realise that there are many miles of beach and thousands of starfish? You cannot possibly make a difference.”
The young woman listened politely, then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea… “It makes all the difference for that one.”
Adapted from the original by Loren Eiseley.
