One
day, a long time ago, a young man went to visit the oldest and wisest man
in the village for some advice on how he could become rich and famous. The
wise elder listened to the young man tell of his dreams and of his
ambition to achieve success beyond that which anyone had ever imagined.
“Fame
and fortune is yours to be had at the top of yonder mountain,” advised
the wise man, as he pointed to a tall mountain in the distance. “You
must travel on foot to the top of the mountain. There you will find riches
beyond your belief. When you arrive there you will have but one chance to
claim the treasure for yourself. Once you leave the top of the mountain,
whatever remains will be lost forever.”
The
young man was very excited and could hardly wait until the morning when he
was to meet with the wise old man for final instructions.
In
the morning when he arrived at the wise old man’s home, the young man
saw a long, thick log lying on the ground in front of the house.
“What
is that for?” asked the puzzled young man.
“You
must carry this log on your journey to the top of the mountain,”
explained the wise old man.
“But
why?” the young man questioned. “What use is this log? It weighs so
much and will slow me down on my journey. I want to claim my fortune
quickly.”
The
wise old man merely looked at the young man, and then down at the heavy
log, and quietly said, “The log is a necessary part of the journey. You
must take it with you to the top of the mountain to claim your
treasure.”
The
young man was not pleased with this sudden surprise, but he respected the
wise old man and as he lifted the long, heavy log onto his shoulders and
struggled down the road towards the mountain he realized that the trip
would not be as easy as he thought.
After
he was walking for a while, a woodsman came up to him and said, “It
looks like that log is pretty heavy. Would you like me to cut some of if
off to make it lighter?”
The
young man was exhausted and with so much of the journey yet to be
travelled, was afraid that he would never make it up the mountain with the
heavy burden, so he said, “I suppose that a little bit cut off the end
wouldn’t hurt. Thanks for your help”. And the woodsman cut two inches
off the end.
A
while later the young man met a farmer on his way back from the fields.
“It looks like that log is pretty heavy. Would you like me to cut some
of it off to make it lighter?”
The
young man still couldn’t understand what the log had to do with him
climbing the mountain to claim his treasure, so he allowed the farmer to
cut two inches off the end and thanked the farmer very much.
At
the bottom of the mountain, the young man met up with a trapper who was
building a cabin. “It looks like that log is pretty heavy. Would you
like me to cut some of it off to make it lighter for your journey?”
By
this time the young man was completely worn down by the weight of the log.
There were times when he felt that he would not be able to stand the
weight, and would have to quit the journey.
The offer of the trapper was too much to resist and he allowed four
more inches to be cut off the log.
The
young man continued to struggle up the mountain and finally he arrived at
the top. There at the very peak of the mountain was the most beautiful
treasure he had ever seen. This was his dream. All that stood between him
and his treasure was a wide opening in the earth which surrounded the
mountain peak. The crevice was very deep and there was only one way to get
across the opening. Now it became clear to the young man why the wise old
man had given him this log to carry on his journey.
The
excited young man lay the log across the gap and discovered to his dismay
that it was eight inches too short to span the distance. The eight inches
that he had allowed to be cut off to lighten his load on his journey to
his treasure. As he turned despondently to walk down the mountain side, he
looked back with tearful eyes and saw his treasure slowly disappear.
The
young man learned a lesson that for many of us comes too late in life. Our
dreams and our treasures are within our reach, but in order to get them we
must first of all experience the struggles it takes to get there. Only
then will we have what it takes to finally reach out and claim our
treasure at the end of the journey. If we lighten the load too much along
the way, our treasure may end up just out of reach.
Next
time you find yourself struggling with life’s challenges, remember that
it will be all worth it when you finally reach the top of the mountain to
claim your reward.
Have a good week!
