Each One Matters

Thousands of starfish had washed ashore. Walking along the beach, an old man saw a young girl bending down and picking up one starfish after another, gently throwing each into the deeper water.

“Why are you doing that?” he asked the girl.

“They’ll die if I don’t,” she answered.

“But there are so many of them!” the old man said. “Even if you worked all day, you won’t make any difference at all.”

The young girl stooped and picked up another starfish.

“I’m making a difference to this one,” she said, tossing it back into the sea.