I was recently reminded of this story and fell in love with it all over again. This story has been widely circulated via email and many other Internet venues but I did some research and it is said to be paraphrased from "The Star Thrower" by Loren Eiseley. Either way, it doesn't make the message any less impacting.
In a world where we all experience so many setbacks, trails, tests, tribulations...it's important to remember that we each make a difference and leave some sort of mark on this work. Whether it is a good mark or a bad mark is up to us to decide.
While Walking along a beach, an elderly gentleman saw someone in the distance leaning down, picking something up and throwing it into the ocean. As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man picking up star fish one by one and tossing each one gently back into the water. He came closer still and called out, "Good Morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"
The young man paused, looked up, and replied, "Throwing starfish into the ocean."
The old man smiled and said, "I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?"
To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."
Upon hearing this, the elderly observer commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"
The young man listened politely. Then, he bent down, picked up another starfish, threw it back into the ocean past the breaking waves and said, "It made a difference to that one."
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