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. One day he was walking along the shore; as he looked down the
beach, he saw a human figure 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 a young man and the young
man wasn't dancing, but instead, he was reaching down to the shore,
picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.
The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing Starfish into the
ocean."
"I guess I should have asked; why are you 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."
"But young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach
and Starfish all along it, you can't possibly make a difference!"
The young man listened politely, then bent down, picked up another
Starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves." It made a
difference for that one."
His response surprised the man, he was upset, he didn't know how to reply,
so instead he turned away and walked back to the cottage to begin his
writings.
All day long as he wrote, the image of that young man haunted him; he
tried to ignore it, but the vision persisted. Finally, late in the
afternoon, he realized that he the scientist, he the poet, had missed the
essential nature of the young man's actions. Because he realized that what
the young man was doing was choosing not to be an observer in the universe
and watch it pass by, but was choosing to be an actor in the universe and
make a difference. He was embarrassed.
That night he went to bed, troubled. When morning came, he awoke knowing
that he had to do something; so he got up, put on his clothes, went to the
beach and found the young man; and with him spent the rest of the morning
throwing Starfish into the ocean.
You see, what the young 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 can, like the young man, become
aware of that gift, we gain through the strength of our vision the power
to shape the future.
And that is your challenge, and that is my challenge. We must find our
Starfish, and if we throw our stars wisely and well, I have no question
that the 21st century is going to be a wonderful place.
