"A Starfish Story"
Once upon a time there was a wise old man
who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a
habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.
Early one morning he was walking along the shore, and as
he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like
a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would
dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he saw that it was a
young man, and the young man wasn't dancing, but instead
he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something,
and very gently throwing it into the ocean. As the old man
got closer he called out, "Good morning! What are you
doing?" The young man paused, looked up and replied,
"Throwing starfish into the ocean."
The old man thought for a moment, and then
said, "I guess I have to ask, but why are you throwing
starfish in the ocean?" The younger man paused, and
then replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going
out. And if I don't throw them in they'll die."
"But, young man," Said the older.
"Don't you realize that there are miles and miles of
beach and there are tens of thousands of starfish all along
it. You can't possibly make a difference!" The young
man listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another
starfish, and threw it into the sea, out past the breaking
waves and said -
"I made a difference to that one."
Author unknown
