Make A Difference

There was once a wise man that used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. He was walking along the shore one day when he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself as he didn’t think anybody would dance on the beach at this time of the day. Hence, he began to walk faster to try and catch up with the person. As he got closer, he saw that the person was a young man and he wasn’t dancing. Instead, he was reaching down to pick up something on the beach every now and then before throwing it into the ocean very gently. When the wise man got closer, he called out, “Good morning! What are you doing?” The young man looked up and replied, “Throwing starfish into the ocean.” “Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” “The sun is up and the tide is going down. If I don’t throw them in they’ll die.” “There are miles and miles of beach and there are starfishes all along it. You can’t possibly make a difference!” The young man listened politely. Then he bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves. He said, “It made a difference for that one.” Each of us can make a difference to this world. Everybody is useful and it is just a matter of whether you want to make a difference.