"I made a difference to that one."

I served in the U.S. Navy as a pediatrician on the island of Guam, just after residency training.  Our family really enjoyed (and still enjoys) the beach, so living on an island was almost perfect for us.  All of our children especially liked picking up shells and looking at all the sea life that washed up on the shore (starfish, sea cucumbers, and spiny sea urchins were the most common).  I remember my oldest being really fascinated with how blue the starfish were there - the color remains one of the prettiest shades of blue we have ever seen.

With that memory, I recently came across a beautiful, poignant story called, simply, "The Star Thrower."  As it turns out, the story is paraphrased from a 16-page essay by the philosopher and writer, Loren Eiseley.  The story has become quite popular (apparently) on the motivational speaker's circuit and can be readily found on the Internet (see the most popular version, here).  It really has a great message:

One day a man was walking along the beach, when he noticed a boy hurriedly picking up and gently throwing things into the ocean.

Approaching the boy, he asked, "Young man, what are you doing?"

The boy 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."

The man laughed to himself and said, "Don't you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish?  You can't make any difference."

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it into the surf.  Then, smiling at the man, he said,

"I made a difference to that one."

Incidentally, the longer, essay version of the story is more philosophical and symbolic, so I like this version better.  Regardless, it is a great story.  We all can make a difference.  Even if it's just one starfish at a time.