The story is about a wise man who sees a young man throwing starfish back into the ocean. When he asks why, the young man replies that the tide is going out and the starfish will die if left on the beach. Though he realizes he cannot save them all, each starfish he returns to the sea is saved. This demonstrates that small positive actions can make a difference.

1. Story To
Reflect
Upon 87
The Star Fish Story
Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the
ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach
before he began his work.
One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the
beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled
to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the
day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young
man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The
young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small
objects, and throwing them into the ocean.
He came closer still and called out 'Good morning! May I ask
what it is that you are doing?'
The young man paused, looked up, and replied 'Throwing
starfish into the ocean.'
'I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?'
asked the somewhat startled wise man.
To this, the young man replied, 'The sun is up and the tide is
going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die.'
Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, 'But, young man,
do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and
there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a
difference!'
At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish,
and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, 'It made
a difference for that one.'
Adapted from The Star Thrower by Loren Eiseley (1907-1977)
Reflection
The positive deeds we do can make a difference to someone…
it does not matter if others don’t get the benefits
immediately.

2. Story To
Reflect
Upon 88
The Touchstone
When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one
book was saved. But it was not a valuable book; and so a poor
man, who could read a little, bought it for a few coppers.
The book wasn't very interesting, but between its pages there was
something very interesting indeed. It was a thin strip of vellum
on which was written the secret of the Touchstone!
The touchstone was a small pebble that could turn any common
metal into pure gold. The writing explained that it was lying
among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked
exactly like it. But the secret was this: The real stone would feel
warm, while ordinary pebbles are cold.
So the man sold his few belongings, bought some simple
supplies, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles.
He knew that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and threw them
down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same
pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he
threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of
them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick
up a pebble. Cold - throw it into the sea. Pick up another. Throw
it into the sea.
The days stretched into weeks and the weeks into months. One
day, however, about mid-afternoon, he picked up a pebble and it
was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he
had done. He had formed such a strong habit of throwing each
pebble into the sea that when the one he wanted came along he
still threw it away.
Reflection
*So it is with opportunity.
Unless we are vigilant, it's easy to fail to recognize an
opportunity when it is in hand and it's just as easy to throw it
away.
* Beware! Out of habit, one can do heedless or careless things
that one regrets later. One has to be always mindful.