Tuesday, August 2, 2011

The Starfish

There was an old writer that used to go to the beach in the mornings and walk, sometimes for hours, in search of inspiration for his writing.  On one such occasion he was taking his walk and as he looked down the beach he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. 
The old man smiled to himself at the vision of someone dancing with the sunrise and continued on his way, curiosity having got the better of him. As he came closer he saw that it was a young man and he was not dancing at all.  He was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.
As the old man got closer he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?"
The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish into the ocean."
"I can see that, but WHY?"
"The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in they'll die."
 The boy stated this so matter-of-factly that the old man was taken aback at first, wondering if there was some logic he was missing.  He said quietly, "young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and thousands of starfish all along it? You can't possibly make a difference!"
The young man listened politely then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves.  He turned to the old man with a smile and said,
There was an old writer that used to go to the beach in the mornings and walk, sometimes for hours, in search of inspiration for his writing.  On one such occasion he was taking his walk and as he looked down the beach he saw a human figure moving like a dancer.
 
The old man smiled to himself at the vision of someone dancing with the sunrise and continued on his way, curiosity having got the better of him. As he came closer he saw that it was a young man and he was not dancing at all.  He was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.
 
 As the old man got closer he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?"
 
 The young man paused and replied, "Throwing starfish into the ocean."
 
 "I can see that, but WHY?"
 
 "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in they'll die."   The boy stated this so matter-of-factly that the old man was taken aback at first, wondering if there was some logic he was missing.  He said quietly, "young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and thousands of starfish all along it? You can't possibly make a difference!"
 
 The young man listened politely then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves.  He turned to the old man with a smile and said,
 
 "it made a difference for that one."
 Based on "The Star Thrower" by Loren Eiseley

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