#LasallianLife
The Starfish
October 13, 2023
This past Tuesday, Bob Fitzsimmons ‘80 and AJ Storinge ‘86 hosted our first CBA regional event of the year at the New York Athletic Club in Manhattan. It was a terrific night with an outstanding group of CBA graduates and friends. As we wrapped up the evening, AJ encouraged the attendees to reflect on “The Star Thrower” by Loren Eiseley:
"Once upon a time, there was an old man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning before he began his work. Early one morning, he was walking along the shore after a big storm had passed and found the vast beach littered with starfish as far as the eye could see, stretching in both directions.
Off in the distance, the old man noticed a small boy approaching. As the boy walked, he paused every so often and as he grew closer, the man could see that he was occasionally bending down to pick up an object and throw it into the sea. The boy came closer still and the man called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”
The young boy paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide has washed them up onto the beach and they can’t return to the sea by themselves,” the youth replied. “When the sun gets high, they will die, unless I throw them back into the water.”
The old man replied, “But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.”
The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then he turned, smiled and said, “It made a difference to that one!”
The events in Israel and Gaza this past week evoke tremendous sadness, fear, anger, grief, and confusion. As parents, we struggle with how to answer our children’s questions. As Lasallians, the traumatic images and social media postings threaten our ability to see the presence of God in our world.
At times such as this, the breadth of evil in the world and the depth of our emotions can be paralyzing. While our love and prayers go out to those impacted by violence over the past week, let us not be paralyzed by the immense challenges of the world. De La Salle fervently believed that he was called to bring the presence of God to the children entrusted to his care. In the same way, God has entrusted a starfish for each of us to save today. Our act may not clear the entire beach, but it will make a difference for that one heart that we touch.
Throughout this past week, it was easy to feel as though the "vast beach was littered with starfish as far as the eye could see, stretching in both directions." When overwhelmed by the challenges of the world, we avoid giving in to feelings of hopelessness and despair. Instead, we flesh out darkness by lighting our own light - making a difference one starfish, one heart, at a time.
Mr. Matthew Keough
President, Christian Brothers Academy
