Meaning of action

Once upon a time a man lived by the sea
and as a storm had raged for days, he went out to see
if anything had changed.

He left his house and as he walked along the beach,
he saw, for heaps of starfishes the sea was out of reach.
And as he reached the first of them he bent down to the sand
and took as many starfishes as fit inside his hand.
He walked towards the water and threw them in the sea,
and as he had done this for hours a guy came with a plea.

"What are you doing this for hours, you alone are not enough.
There is no meaning in this action, the going should be tough.
And you can never throw them all into the sea.
Your effort will be meaningless, at least that's what I see."

And without stopping even for a second, he looked towards the man,
"For these it won't be meaningless, that's what I see, my friend."