Teaching Story: I Tried To Climb The Mountain Today

I tried to climb the mountain today. As I inched my way up the path, I felt
overwhelmed, so I had to turn back.
I tried to climb the mountain today. On my journey, darkness started to fall,
and I was full of fear, so I had to return to a safe place.
I was ready to climb the mountain today. But it was so hot outside, I thought
I better stay in my nice air-conditioned house and rest up for tomorrow's
attempt.
I was about to climb the mountain today. But I had so many other things to
do, so instead of climbing the mountain I took care of much more important
tasks. I washed my car, mowed the grass and watched the big game.
Today the mountain will just have to wait.
I was going to climb the mountain today. But as I stared at the mountain in
it's majestic beauty, I knew I stood no chance of making it to the top, so I
figured why even bother trying.
I had forgotten about climbing the mountain today, until a friend came by and
asked me what I was up to lately. I told him I was thinking about climbing
that mountain some day. I went on and on about how I was going to accomplish
this task.
Finally, he said, "I just got back from climbing the mountain." Astonished,
I asked him, "How did you do it?"
He replied, "For the longest time I told myself I was trying to climb the
mountain but never made any progress. I almost let the dream of making it to
the top die. I came up with every excuse of why I could not make it up the
mountain, but never once did I give myself a reason why I could. One day as I
stared at the mountain and pondered, I realized that if I didn't make an
attempt at this dream all my dreams will eventually die."
"The next morning, I started my climb." He continued, "It was not easy, and
at times I wanted to quit. But no matter what I faced, I placed one foot in
front of the other, keeping a steady pace.
When the wind tried to blow me over the edge, I kept walking. When the voices
inside my head screamed, "stop!" I focused on my goal never letting it out of
sight, and I kept moving forward.
At times, I was ready to quit, but I knew I had come too far. Time and time
again, I reassured myself that I was going to finish this journey. I
struggled to make it to the top, but I climbed the mountain!"
"I have to be going," my friend said. "Tomorrow is a new day to accomplish
more dreams. By the way, what are you going to do tomorrow?