Small Actions Make a Difference
As the old man walked the beach at dawn, he noticed a youth ahead of him picking up starfish and flinging them into the sea. Finally, catching up with the youth, he asked the young boy why he was doing this. The answer was that the stranded starfish would die if left in the morning sun.
"But the beach goes on for miles and there are millions of starfish," countered the old man. "How can your effort make any difference?"
The young man looked at the starfish in his hand and then threw it to the safety of the waves. "It makes a difference to this one," he said.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux has a beautiful quote about what should motivate our actions...
"There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge; that is curiosity.
There are those who seek knowledge to be known by others; that is vanity.
There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve; that is Love."
