Hello,
My name is Catherine Cook-Katon.
This meditation is a bit of a story,
So a visualization and a bit of a story for you.
If you're feeling like your work does not matter,
Like there is so much need out there and you alone cannot make a difference,
This story is for you.
The title of this story is The Starfish Story.
It means a lot to me because it was a favorite of my mother's and each year she would read it to her students that she taught in her English classes.
She would have them journal about it.
She would have them journal about what this story really meant to them.
She wanted them to think about how what they did mattered,
No matter how small or insignificant it might have seemed at the time.
Before I start,
I want to make sure you're seated in a comfortable position and that you feel well grounded.
Take a few deep breaths,
Allowing your mind to settle,
And open up into listening.
Open up your mind into listening and then maybe softening in your shoulders,
Softening in your chest,
And opening up your heart a bit to listen.
Begin to lengthen and deepen your breaths.
You might even add a noticing of your breath.
For example,
You might think,
Breathing in,
I know I am breathing in,
And breathing out,
I know I am breathing out.
And just breathe deeply here for a few breaths.
This story begins on a beach.
It is low tide and it's morning time.
It is set to be a beautiful and very hot day.
It is low tide and the sun is at the horizon.
There's a young man walking down the beach and he notices that there are thousands of starfish stranded on the beach.
Knowing that the sun will continue to rise,
As will the heat,
He is saddened for the starfish,
Many of whom will be stranded in the sun and suffer.
As he walks,
He looks up,
Noticing that there's someone dancing or something ahead of him.
He isn't sure what's going on.
Curious,
He walks closer.
As he walks closer,
He sees that this person is an old man throwing starfish into the ocean,
One at a time.
He watches the old man.
It is so much like dancing.
The old man bends and picks up a starfish,
Gazes out toward the ocean,
And with all of his power throws the starfish into deeper waters.
The old man breathes in and breathes out and then bends down to pick up another starfish.
Bewildered and to be honest,
A bit impressed,
The young man asked the old man,
What are you doing?
Hearing the young man,
The older man paused and turned with eyes of wisdom and a smile filled with kindness.
And in there a spark of joy and he says,
I'm throwing the starfish into the ocean.
It's low tide.
It's going to be a very hot day.
Ah,
Yes,
The young man recalled worrying this same worry as he walked onto the beach.
He questioned the old man.
Sir,
He said,
There are thousands and thousands of starfish.
However,
Could you make a difference?
And the old man beginning his dance again bent down and picked up a starfish.
However,
This time he paused and he looked at the young man with those eyes of wisdom.
Son,
He said,
It makes a difference to this one.
And then he turned back to his work,
Looking out to the water with all of his might,
Through the starfish far into the ocean,
Taking a pause and breathing in and breathing out.
And that is the end of the story.
Take a few breaths here and allow this story to settle.
You might even return to the deep slow breaths and you're noticing,
Noticing that breathing in,
I know I am breathing in and breathing out,
I know I am breathing out.
And here you might want to take even a few more moments breathing and consider what this meditation means to you,
Maybe even for you.
You may want to journal about this meditation and what you might have noticed or considered.
Thank yourself for taking a few moments to listen,
To wonder,
And deeply consider how much you really do matter.
I hope you love this story as much as I do.
Thank you so much for listening.
