The Starfish Story — original by Loren Eisley
One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.
Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”
The youth 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.”
“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!”
After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said… “I made a difference for that one.”
Every single day we have a chance to make a difference, to do something for another person, to bring someone else a smile. Why, if we had that wonderful choice, would we ignore it?
I’m not saying to change the world, I’m not saying to start a revolution that effects every single person in the world. Instead, help one. Maybe tell a stranger you find attractive how pretty or handsome you find that person. Give a lady a flower because she deserves one. Do the dishes when it isn’t your week to do them. Pay a toll for the car behind you.
Random acts of kindness, no matter how small, make a difference. You may not change the world, but as the little boy in the above story so bluntly puts it, if you “[make] a difference for that one,” it is all that matters.
Love you bunches!
Elizabeth <3
