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 he was walking along the shore. 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.
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 he got closer he called out, “Good morning! What are you doing?”
The
young man paused, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfish in the
ocean.” “I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in
the ocean?” “The sun is up, and the tide is going out, and if I don’t
throw them in they’ll die.” “But, young man, don’t you realize that
there are miles and miles of beach, and starfish all along it. You
can’t possibly make a difference!”
young man paused, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfish in the
ocean.” “I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in
the ocean?” “The sun is up, and the tide is going out, and if I don’t
throw them in they’ll die.” “But, young man, don’t you realize that
there are miles and miles of beach, and 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, past the breaking waves and said, “It made a
difference for that one.”
young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another starfish
and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said, “It made a
difference for that one.”
0 Responses
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.