August 8, 2008, 12:38 am

A young boy kept his dreams in a crystal jar on a shelf beyond reach. But with work and dedication, he told himself, that that jar would surly rest in his palms one day and he would then be able to own his dreams instead of just admiring them from afar.He knew that when that day came, it would be marked as his greatest accomplishment. But first he decided he needed a plan. So for months and months he explored his options
and suddenly, like a quick bolt of lightening to his mind, inspiration had struck. "I KNOW!", he cried out, "I shall build a ladder. Yes, and it will bring me all the way up into the seemingly infinite heights where my dreams reside within that crystal jar." The boy now had a purpose and a plan and that crystal jar became more and more beautiful in his mind. But there was a problem. The ladder was so tall, and expensive, that it would probably take about eight years to build. The young mans parent's ridiculed him saying, "Eight years is too long to attain your dreams, especially for such a silly dream. Son, dream a little smaller." He refused and although his passion went unnoticed by those closest to him, a man of great power and fortune couldn't turn a blind eye to the boy and said, "Boy, I see what you are doing and I am impressed. Let me make your work a little easier. I will give you all the resources you need to build your ladder and so instead of 8 years, that crystal jar should be yours in just 7."

The boy was amazed. The boy was speechless. The boy was blessed. And so the boy made a pact with the man of fortune and power. He promised to work hard for the next seven years and when he got his crystal jar he would promise to share it with the community. He vowed to use his dream to serve the people of the world both at home and afar. And he also made a promise to himself and said that if he managed to do this, he would become a teacher and tell other young boys how they too, could possess their own magnificent crystal jar.
When the young boy finished pledging his loyalty, the man of power and wealth said "Young boy, you have my word. Here is everything that you need."

So for the next few years the young boy toiled and toiled over his ladder. As the years went by, the young boy turned into a young man, and the ladder grew longer and longer. Until one day, one tragic day, the young man lost his balance and the past years of hard work and dedication passed before his eyes. At that instant he knew, he was about to experience failure and within a matter of seconds, his years of work had become undone. The ladder began to splinter, creak,and finally broke in half and the young man went falling down and he could not fight it. As he was falling his eyes caught a glimpse of the crystal jar plummeting back down to the earth as well. The sun hit the crystal and it sparkled with a teasing beauty. And in unison, the young man and the boy hit the ground and his dreams were shattered. There he lay with broken bones, a splintered ladder, and a crushed dream. The beautiful crystal had broken and nothing remained of it, besides the powdered dust it had become. The man of power and wealth got word of what had happened and was not pleased. He took back the bits and pieces of his ladder and walked away saying, "I no longer believe in you.". The young man cupped a handful his wrecked crystal jar of dreams and said "My God, what have I done? Where do I go from here?"