Monday, April 23, 2012

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.’” Written by Loren Eiseley 1978

2 comments:

  1. This story is a perfect metaphor for what we do as social workers. We may not "change the world," but we do change the lives of the people we work with.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love this story :) It is so simple but so wise and beautiful...

    ReplyDelete