Make a Difference?

8. Can Any of This Really Make a Difference?

An elderly gentleman was strolling along the beach one morning when he encountered a child skipping along, but stopping occasionally to pick up starfish from the sand and throw them into the surf.

The old man inquired of the youngster, “Why are you throwing starfish?” The child explained that for the next several days there would be a slack tide, meaning that high tides would not come in as far as they normally do, thus leaving the starfish stranded to die in the hot sun. “So,” said the youngster, “I am saving their lives!”

The old gentleman said, “Well, my child, I am moved by your concern for the plight of these poor creatures, but if you look up and down this shoreline you will notice that there are starfish for nearly as far as you can see! So surely you must realize that a little person like yourself can’t really make a difference here.”

The child stood motionless for a brief moment, then stooped down and grabbed a starfish there within reach and hurled it back into the sea; then looked up, smiled and said, “Well, I sure made a difference for that one!”

A lengthy shoreline is simply a collection of individual grains of sand. All of those little things do add up, as do even the smallest of efforts when combined together.