Parable of the Starfish

On the morning after a violent storm, the residents of a seaside village awoke to find their beach covered with hundreds of dying starfish which had washed ashore. As the community gathered at the end of the beach, they spoke in hushed tones about the great sadness of the disaster. Suddenly, a young girl ran towards the beach and began to pick the starfish one at a time, then throwing them back into the water.

A village elder walked towards the young girl and kindly said, “Child, there are hundreds of starfish on this beach and this must be happening on other beaches up and down the coast. You must understand that you alone can’t possibly make a difference.”

The little girl looked up at the old man, smiled and bent down to pick another starfish. As she threw it back into the sea, she replied, “I made a huge difference to that one!”

– Author Unknown