Simple Things

As the old man walked along the beach at dawn,
he could see someone far down the beach flinging something into the ocean,
Time and again,
the person would bend over, pick up something, stand up,
and throw it into the water.
Finally the old man caught up to the young man,
and asked him why he was doing this.
The young man replied that the stranded starfish would die if left in the morning sun.
"But the beach goes on for miles, and there are millions of Starfish."
retorted the old man. "How can you really make a difference?"
The young man looked at the starfish in his hand
and then he threw it into the safety of the waves as he replied
"It makes a difference to this one."

(The Starthrower, by Loren Eisley)

Francis Collins, the geneticist whose The Language of God I am currently reading, describes a trip he made as a relief worker in Africa in the chapter "Truth Seekers." As a western doctor, he knew there were limitations to what he was going to be able to accomplish. The health care system was not going to be the same as in the developed world. Still, he imagined he was going to do great things, maybe save all kinds of people.

The reality was more brutal, and he found himself worn out by the apparent hopelessness of the situation. "I grew more and more discouraged," he wrote, "wondering why I had ever thought that this trip would be a good thing."

Then one day, a farmer came in near death. He recognized the symptoms right away of something called a "paradoxical pulse", probably brought on by tuberculosis. He knew that the only treatment available was something a cardio specialist would normally do. Collins wasn't qualified for the procedure. But it was the only way to save him. So using a large needle, he bore a hole in the man's chest, drew out the fluid, and the man's symptoms subsided.

The next day, the young farmer told him, "I get the sense you are wondering why you came here. I have an answer for you. You came here for one reason. You came here for me." (You can hear Collins tell this story in his own words here.)

Collins learned what so few of us do. We are all called to do great things. But the great things we are meant to do are not necessarily things that will change the world, dramatically altering the flow of history. Maybe the great thing we are meant to do will only save one person; maybe the great thing we will do will be known only to God - maybe we won't even be privileged to know what it is, or when it happened. But live every moment like it is your great thing, your vocation. Every moment you face may be the one reason you were put on this Earth.

So live every second like it is the one thing you are here to do. For who knows? Maybe it is.