- Once upon a time, there was a wise man, who used to go
to the ocean to do his writing. He had the habit of walking along the beach
before he began his work.
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- One day he was walking along the shore; as he looked
down to the beach, he saw a human figure who was moving like a dancer.
He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day, so
he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, he saw that it was
an old man and that he wasn't dancing, but instead he was reaching down
to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the
ocean.
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- As he got closer he called out, 'Good morning! What are
you doing?' The old man paused, looked up and replied, 'Throwing Starfish
into the ocean. The sun is up and the tide is going out and if I don't
throw them in they'll die.'
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- 'But,' said I, don't you realize that there are miles
and miles of beach and Starfish all along it, you can't possibly make a
difference!'
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- The old man listened politely, then bent down and picked
up another Starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves.
"It made a difference for that one."
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- His response surprised the man, he was upset, he didn't
know how to reply, so instead he hurried away and walked back to the cottage
and began his writings.
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- All day long as he wrote, the image of the old man haunted
him; he tried to ignore it, but the vision persisted. Finally, late in
the afternoon, he realized that he the scientist, the writer, had missed
the essential nature of the old man's actions. Because he realized that
what the old man was doing was choosing not to be an observer in the universe
and watch it pass by, but was choosing to be a participant and make a difference.
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- That night he went to bed, troubled. When morning cam,
he awoke knowing that he had to do something; so he got up, put on his
clothes, went to the beach and found the old man; and with him spent the
rest of the morning throwing Starfish into the ocean.
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- You see, what the old man's actions represent is something
that is special in each and every one of us. We have all been gifted with
the ability to make a difference. And if we, like the old man, become aware
of that gift, we gain through the strength of our vision to change the
future. We must find our Starfish, and if we throw our stars wisely and
well, our tomorrows are going to be a wonderful place.
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- Remember (overwhelmed as we are by the magnitude of need
and suffering etc)...
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- Nobody can help everybody - but everybody can help Somebody.
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- Note this is inspired by the writing of Loren Eiseley
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- - JM
- noahshouse228@aim.com
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