The Starfish Thrower
While walking
along a beach,
an elderly gentleman saw someone in the distance leaning
down,
picking something up and throwing it into the ocean.
As he got closer, he noticed that the figre was that of a young
man,
picking up starfish one by one and tossing each one gently back
into the water.
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."
The old man smiled, and said, "I must ask, then, why are you
throwing starfish into the
ocean?"
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 elderly observer comented,
"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!"
The young man listened politely. then he bent down, picked up
another starfish, threw
it back into the ocean past the breaking waves and
said,
"It made a difference for that one."
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