The Starfish Story: Making A Difference

 One day a woman was walking along the beach upon which hundreds of starfish had been washed up and now lay stranded on the sand.

As she continued walking, she noticed a young girl in the distance, picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.

She approached the girl, and asked, “What are you doing?”

The girl replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. They need to be in the water, if I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

“My daughter,” the woman said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t possibly make a difference!”

After listening politely, the girl bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf.

Then she looked up, smiled at the woman, and said:

“I made a difference to that one.”