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 though 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."
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