Original Story by: Loren Eisley
One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”
The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”
“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!”
After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said…
“I made a difference for that one.”
For some reason, I always get choked up when I hear that story. I love it :)
yay! it was actually my first time hearing it the other day :) love how simple, yet powerful, the message is. thanks for stopping by!
Yes. It makes a difference to that one. Lives have been saved through those small efforts. Sanity restored, hope renewed. You never know how much a kind word, a short note, a gentle touch on the arm, any small thing… may impact someone. Example: I sent out a 7 word tweet to DailyLetter this week. Just a short line of something I hoped for him. And it impacted him powerfully enough to write a letter. You just never know. Thanks, J :)
been MIA for 2 weeks with super sick cold/flu/stomach bug thing that hit all 5 of us, so I am just seeing this now, and boy o boy, what a GREAT little tale! Something to LIVE BY for sure!
@Frelle – That warms my heart :) Little things to us can really be HUGE things to others!
@Angie – Hey Angie!! Love Drop #2 in the house! Haha… sorry to hear about the flu going around your place but we hope you’re better now :) Thanks for popping in! see you in the forums?