No act of goodness is ever truly small to the one who receives it.
After a great storm, thousands of fish lay stranded upon the wet sand of the beach. The waves had withdrawn, leaving them gasping beneath the open sky. The shore stretched for miles, covered with helpless flickering bodies. A woman walked quietly along the beach. Every few steps she bent down, picked up a fish gently in her hands, and threw it back into the ocean. A man watching from afar approached her with disbelief. “Why are you doing this?” he asked. “There are thousands of them. You cannot possibly save them all. What you are doing makes no difference.” The woman listened silently. Then she bent down once more, lifted another struggling fish, and released it into the sea. As the fish disappeared into the water, she smiled softly and replied, “It mattered to this one.” We often dream of changing the whole world. We chase great ambitions, grand achievements, and monumental victories. Yet life is not built only upon extraordinary acts. It is shaped quietly, almost invisibly,...