Rembrandt van Rijn, The Return of the Prodigal Son, c.1661-1688. 262cm x 205cm.Heritage Museum, Saint Petersburg
Rising slowly from the ocean the sun is just beginning to warm the sandy beach. An older gentleman taking a morning stroll and notices a lovely young woman dancing along the water’s edge. Bending, turning and reaching toward the sky – she is graceful and athletic.
Getting closer he observes that she is not really dancing but rather, reaching down and picking up individual starfish and throwing them into the sea. The Gentleman asks why she is working so hard. She explains that the starfish are stranded on the beach and would die if left until the morning sun rose completely.
“But there must be thousands of miles of beach and 1 million starfish. How can your efforts make any difference?”
The young woman looks down at the small starfish in her hand and as she gracefully throws it into the sea says with a very sweet smile, “It makes a difference to this one.” (Loran Eiseley adapted)