All over the world, through all ages, people shared their stories and parables with each other.
Storytelling creates connection, trust, and understanding by translating complex wisdom into relatable human experiences.
They are the heart of many cultures and histories, helping us to understand valuable attitudes and traditions, and helping us to navigate through the world.
We love to share here some of them, often anonymously shared during workshops, courses and retreats.
The Boy and the Starfish
An old man was walking along the beach one morning when he spotted a young boy crouched by the water,
scooping something up from the sand and throwing it into the sea.
“What are you doing there, boy?” the old man asked, walking closer.
“I’m saving these starfish that are stranded,” replied the boy,
“if they stay on the beach, they will dry out and die,
so I’m putting them back into the ocean so they can live.”
The older man was silent for a few seconds.
“Young man,” he said, “on this stretch of the beach alone, there must be more than one hundred stranded starfish.
Around the next corner, there must be at least one thousand more.
This goes on for miles and miles and miles –
I’ve done this walk every day for 10 years, and it’s always the same.
There must be millions of stranded starfish! I hate to say it, but you’ll never make a difference.”
The boy replied, “well, I just made a difference for that one”, and continued with his work.
Parable, based on “The Star Thrower” by Loren Eiseley.
Read more stories by clicking on the titles below.
An Ancient Gift – Who are we?
The Father and his Sons– a Small Gift
The Chopsticks– Heaven or Hell
The Story of the Donkey and the Tigre – Intelligence
The Fish in the Bowl – Beliefs
The Search – How to…???
The Sourdough Parable – Care & Nurture
An Old Cherokee told his son – Peace Inside