Musings Part II The Retelling of An Old Story

"The noblest question in the world is, what good may I do in it?" -Benjamin Franklin

There is an old story that is often told.  It is about a boy (or an old man, depending on the version you've heard) and he is walking along the beach.  The beach is strewn with thousands of starfish which have washed ashore.  As he walks along he picks up starfish and throws them back to the water and to safety.  Someone asks the boy how he possibly hopes to make a difference when there are so many starfish on the beach.  As the boy throws a fish back he says, "It makes a difference to this one".

It is a good story as it stands but consider this:  maybe the fish is saved or maybe it is already dead.  Who could tell with a starfish?  Maybe it will just wash ashore again with the next tide.  Whatever the future of the starfish, the boy has BECOME something more because he made the effort to save a few starfish.

We go out in the world with the intent to make a difference.  Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't know if we have or not and sometimes we fail, but always we BECOME something more as we try.