Why
We Do What We Do!
Even though
there are so many that need help,
Isn't it better to help a few rather than not to help any at
all?
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I
awoke early, as I often did, just before sunrise, to walk by
the ocean's edge and greet the new day. As I moved through the
misty dawn, I focused on a faint, far away motion. I saw a youth,
bending and reaching and flailing arms, dancing on the beach,
no doubt in celebration of the perfect day soon to begin.
As I approached, I sadly realized that the youth was not dancing
to the bay, but rather bending to sift through the debris left
by the night's tide, stopping now and then to pick up a starfish
and then standing, to heave it back into the sea.
I asked the youth the purpose of his effort. "The tide has
washed the starfish onto the beach and they cannot return to
the sea by themselves," the youth replied. "When the
sun rises, they will die, unless I throw them back to the sea."
As the youth explained, I surveyed the vast expanse of beach,
stretching in both directions beyond my sight. Starfish littered
the shore in numbers beyond calculation. The hopelessness of
the youth's plan became clear to me and I countered, "But
there are more starfish on this beach than you can ever save
before the sun is up. Surely you cannot expect to make a difference."
The youth paused briefly to consider my words, bent to pick up
a starfish and threw it as far as possible. Turning to me he
simply said, "I
made a difference to that one."