The Wall

Three men came upon an immense brick wall blocking their path. The wall was obviously very old. Yet despite the cracks and crevices, it exuded a time worn strength and experience. "To continue walking this path you must find a way pass," the wall said. Noticing a pile full of tools, the first man impatiently grabbed the first thing he found, a sledge hammer. Taking the hammer to the wall the man thought he would knock out a hole just large enough for him to fit through, and he would continue on his way. After 15 minutes of futile swinging though, no more than a chip had been taken from the strong wall and the man threw the hammer aside and went back the way he came.

The second man, noticing the failure of the first, dug deep in the pile and found a sure-fire quick fix in some explosives. After carefully wiring them to the base of the wall and standing a goodly distance away, he lit the fuse. After a resounding boom, the man surely thought he had brought the entire wall down and would be a hero to all. However, after the dust had settled he found that he also made no more than a crack in the old wall. Dejected, the second man too went back the way he came.

The third man approached the wall and examined it carefully. He walked the base for one hundred yards in both directions taking note of everything he saw. At last he reached up with one hand and found one of the crevices just as his foot found another, and pulled himself off the ground. Again, higher this time, he found another crack with his hand, and then another. Before long he was many feet off the ground. Sometimes he moved laterally, sometimes even down to find the best path up the wall. Never looking back, he kept his eyes to the top and patiently picked his way with a careful ease. After many hours, the man finally made it to the top of the old, strong brick wall. He didn't linger long, and never did he look back to marvel at the feat just accomplished. Instead he looked forward, at path that lay ahead, and welcomed the next obstacle to come.