Many of the pieces of jewelry I craft have a special message. This is true of the Starfish Bracelet. I heard this story several years ago and it stuck with me. The story goes something like this:

A man was walking along the seashore when he came upon an area of the beach covered with starfish. Apparently, due to a recent storm, the starfish had been washed ashore where they would eventually die. “How sad,” the man thought to himself as he gazed out over the beach which was littered with thousands of dying starfish.
Suddenly, something caught his attention. Up ahead, another man walked along the beach. As the first man watched, the second man bent over, picked up a starfish, and flung it back into the ocean. Curious, the first man continued to watch the man pick up starfish and throw them back into the water.
Finally, the first man decided it was time to give the starfish savior a reality check. Approaching him, the first man stated with conviction, “You know, what you are doing doesn’t really matter. There is no way you can save them all.”
The other man bent over, picked up another starfish, and flung it into the ocean before replying, “It matters to that one.”

How many times do we feel sad about something, but don’t act on our empathy? How many times are we discouraged from doing something good, because it might not make enough of a difference? The story of the Starfish reminds me to focus on doing the good I know to do–to the one(s) right in my path. The results? An ocean of Living Starfish!

Check out the bracelet in the Christina Carol shop!