Still A Dreamer

I have known this story for as long as I have been involved with helping animals. I featured it in the first issue of the newsletter I published for my dog rescue. It is something I never forget, and today, while searching for quotations for a job I’m working on, I stumbled across it again. It’s just a favorite of mine, and I’m thinking to share its simple inspiration with you.

The Original Starfish Story can be found in ”Star Thrower,” a collection of essays by naturalist and writer Loren Eiseley 1978

“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.’”