A Young Man and the Starfish

--by moni73ka, posted Oct 31, 2007

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.

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!"

The young man listened politely.

Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it
Into the ocean, past the breaking waves and said – "It made a difference for that one."

8251 Reads

Posted by moni73ka
Oct 31, 2007
Comments (14)

Readers Comments

MARK wrote: GREAT STORY

a.ka bull city 919 wrote: an very good story

Tikit wrote: We all need to be re-motivated from time to time, lest we begin to think our tiny acts of kindness are too insignificant to make a difference. Thank you for sharing this story.

Stella wrote: I love that story, my mom told it to me recently! Has anyone heard of Rachel's Challenge? It's the challenge of a girl, Rachel, (the first person killed in Columbine) which states that you should do a good deed every day, and that you may just start a chain reaction!

LOVEBUG wrote: You make a difference, I make a difference, together we will chance the world.

blisswholelife wrote: lovely message..... if we cant help all at a time.... let us help one by one...... but help

Ebbtide wrote: This story is so true of human nature. We don't think that we can make a difference doing good in contrast to all of the bad that we see around us, but each time a member of this site - or society at large - does a small act of kindness that changes someone's world they disprove that erroneous thinking. We CAN make a difference. Thank you for sharing this story! :).

aubrey wrote: I am teaching english to children in Korea. This will be a great story to read them to learn no only English, but the importance of kindness. Thanks!

akbj wrote: Whoa, that sends chills down my spine. When we feel overwhelmed with all there is to do, that story is one to remember. It is such a reminder that one is as important as many, and that many starts with one.

friend wrote: This is a City Year founding story. If you are 17 to 24 years old and looking to make a difference City Year is a great place to do it. I spent a year of my life working for City Year and it was the best thing i ever did. To find out more go to http://cityyear.org/

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