An old man walked across the beach until he came across a young boy throwing something into the breaking waves. Upon closer inspection, the old man could see that the boy was tossing stranded starfish from the sandy beach, back into the ocean.
“What are you doing, young man?” He asked.
“If the starfish are still on the beach when the sun rises, they will die,” the boy answered.
“That is ridiculous. There are thousands of miles of beach and millions of starfish. It doesn’t matter how many you throw in; you can’t make a difference.”
“If the starfish are still on the beach when the sun rises, they will die,” the boy answered.
“That is ridiculous. There are thousands of miles of beach and millions of starfish. It doesn’t matter how many you throw in; you can’t make a difference.”
“It matters to this one,” the boy said as he threw another starfish into the waves. “And it matters to this one.”
Years ago, when we were living in Oregon, I found this little vignette. It broke my heart then, and it breaks my heart now. When I speak of having a broken heart, I refer to a heart that is open and sore and looking for meaning and purpose to fill it back up. We are here on this glorious, beautiful planet to help one another along in our journeys. Helping just one does make all the difference...especially if you are the one being helped!!! So often our state of affairs looks grim and even hopeless and helpless. I am here to say that it is anything but!!!! We each need to reach out and find someone, everyday of our lives, to pick up and fling back into a good and hopeful life!!! We all can do it, even when we find ourselves feeling a little hopeless ourselves. Just remember that there is always someone stranded even a little further up on the beach that needs us!!!
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