The Starfish

One of my favorite places in the world is the Gulf of Mexico with its many unique, beautiful beaches. One can learn many life lessons while exploring and combing these beaches. The story below illustrates one of those lessons which I hold dear. I hope you enjoy it! Remember we all make a difference!


Once a man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Off in the distance he could see a person going back and forth between the surf's edge and and the beach. Back and forth this person went. As the man approached he could see that there were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the natural action of the tide.
The man was stuck by the the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to perish. As he approached the person continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them into the surf.
As he came up to the person he said, "You must be crazy. There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. You can't possibly make a difference." The person looked at the man. He then stooped down and pick up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned back to the man and said, "It sure made a difference to that one!"

I'm not sure who wrote this story, but I love it!!! Whenever I go to the beach now, if I find a starfish that is still alive I throw it back into the ocean and think about the differences I can make each day if I just take the time to reach out and help someone in need.