I t is always helpful to remember
any great story that inspires us. No doubt
you will remember this one: a vacationing
businessman was walking along the beach
when he saw a young boy walking in the
ankle-deep surf. Along the beach many
starfish had been washed ashore. The
boy walked along slowly and occasionally
reached down and tossed a starfish back
into the gulf. The businessman, hoping to
teach the boy a little lesson in common
sense, walked up to him and said, “I have
been watching what you are doing, son.
You have a good heart, and I know you
mean well, but do you realize how many
beaches there are and how many starfish
are dying on every beach every day? Surely such an industrious and kind-hearted
boy such as yourself could find something
better to do with your time. Do you really
think what you are doing is going to make
a difference?”
The boy looked up at the man, and
then he looked down at a starfish by his
feet. He picked up the starfish and gently
tossed it back into the ocean. Then he
looked the man squarely in his eyes and
said, “It makes a difference to that one.”
I suspect most of us are caught up in
the modern mentality that “the bigger a
thing is the more successful it is.” Most
of the things in our world are measured
in terms of how much money it makes or
how many people attended, or how many
levels the high rise may have, or how fast
a conveyance travels, or how great the
comfort is, or how much a product can be
produced in a day or how much our fish
weighed.
Is it not true that few of our world’s
problems will be solved by those who
wait to do really big things? Yet, almost
daily the news reports a story of someone
who did some small deed that contributed to the solution of a large problem.
One meal provided to someone in need
or one coat offered to one who is cold, or
one word of encouragement spoken to a
discouraged and depressed person may be
a very big gift.
Yes, I think the boy tossing starfish
back into the gulf may have a better grasp
of greatness than the man who was trying
to teach him his ideas of greatness.
Do the small thing today as the opportunity presents itself instead of waiting for
some big and auspicious act! Your action
may contribute more than you will ever
know. It may make all the difference to
one living being.b
A Legend of
the Seashore
