During a stroll on the beach, a man came upon a

little child hurriedly tossing starfish into the ocean

.  

They had been stranded by that morning’s

high tide and the miles long beach was covered

 from one end to the other with

the helpless starfish.

The man sigh, kneeled down on one knee beside the child and quietly advised,

"Dear child, you will never get all

these starfish back in the ocean.  No one can

 make a difference against these odds – there

are just too many starfish."

The child held up another starfish, threw it with deep intent as far as possible.

Then, turning back

to look the man through a beaming smile replied,

 "I just made a difference for that one!"

The end

(or is it the beginning?)