Once upon a time, there was a wise man, walking along the shore; as he saw a young man that was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean. As he got closer he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?" 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." adapted from "The Star Thrower" by Loren Eiseley