Once there was a young, enthusiastic and
extremely strong lumberjack. He was ecstatic when he set a
camp record for trees felled in one day. Certain that he could
excel more with each passing day, he worked harder and put
in more hours—only to find his accomplishments diminishing
daily.
Becoming frustrated he applied himself
to his work even more. He spent less and less time in the
camaraderie of his fellow workers and stopped taking notice
of the beauty around him. He felt old beyond his years and
more helpless than he ever dreamed he could feel—and
he didn’t have a clue why this was happening to him.
Finally someone dared to ask, “Have
you sharpened your ax?” In his exhaustion the question
seemed absolutely ridiculous. He’d been up before the
crack of dawn, working through lunch and continuing on until
last light. Of course he hadn’t sharpened his ax!
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