Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Make a difference, one at a time.


Once upon a time, there was a wise 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.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.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."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.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 wise man 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!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It made a difference for that one."

by Loren Eiseley (1907 - 1977)

4 comments:

Maggie May said...

wow it looks SHARP round here!!!

lovely story. and i get it, i hear you. you are right.

Anonymous said...

I was seriously just thinking of this story last week. Thank you for posting it.

I'll pray for Joe.

Katie said...

I love this and I so feel this way!! About many things, if we don't step out of the boat who is. Just like adoption that is the big example.. Although the abortions still happen we can make a difference and spread awareness.

Shannon said...

I love this story. Thanks for posting it. I haven't heard it in a long time.