The narrator's friend saw a man throwing starfish that had washed ashore back into the ocean. When the friend asked what he was doing, the man explained he was saving the starfish from dying out of water by throwing them back to the sea. Though there were many starfish, the man felt his small efforts made a difference to each individual starfish he saved. His actions reflected that everyone can help others through small acts and change doesn't need to be on a large scale to be meaningful.

1. Zen Stories :Making a Difference Prepared by Prof.K.Prabhakar [email_address]

2. A friend of mine was walking down a deserted beach at sunset and saw another man at a distance. My friend has noticed that the local native kept learning down, picking something up and throwing it out into the water. Time and again he kept hurling things out into the ocean.

3. In fact the man was picking up starfish that had washed up on the beach, and, one at a time, he was throwing them back into the water.

4. My friend approached the man and said. “Namaste, friend. I was wondering what you are doing.”

5. “ I’m throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see, it’s low tide right now and all of these starfish have been washed up onto the shore. If I don’t throw them back into the sea, they’ll die up here from lack of oxygen.

6. “ I understand,” my friend replied, “but there must be large number of such starfish on this beach. You cannot save all of them. I wonder your small effort make any difference for the sea.

7. The local native smiled, bent down and picked up yet another starfish, and as he threw it back into the sea, he replied, “ Made a difference to this one!”