2. Taking the First Step

World Scripture

A big tree was once a small seed; a nine-storey building started with a basket of earth; a journey of a thousand miles begins with a first step.
Tao Te Ching 64

The way of the superior man may be compared to traveling to a distant place: one must start from the nearest stage. It may also be likened to ascending a height: one must begin with the lowest step.
Doctrine of the Mean 15

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

After receiving the command of God which foretold that He would judge the earth after 120 years, Noah did not wait around, thinking, “So what if a year has passed; there are still 119 years left.” God commands only once; it is up to each individual to commit to its great purpose.
(19:237)

To achieve victory for the year, set your goals on New Year’s Day. Then equip yourself with a fighting spirit and a driving power to pursue your goals and overcome the challenges for 365 days or more. If you do not do this, you are bound to be defeated before the year is over. If you live one year like this, and then continue in this manner, it will eventually add up to 10 years, then 20 years, 30 years—and this becomes the path of a victorious life.
(31:30, April 12, 1970)

Eternity does not start when we die. It begins at the moment we come to know God’s will. Once we know it, if there is a gap of even one moment, eternity will be stopped. Therefore, in pursuit of our life of faith, if we think, “I cannot make it this year, but I will do it next year” or “I cannot go in my adolescence, but I will go in my 20s,” or “I cannot do it in my 20s, but surely I will in my 30s” or “I cannot in my 30s but I will in my 40s” or “I cannot in my 40s but I will in my 50s”… If we lived our whole life like this, we would never have lived even one day in accordance with God’s Will. A person who lives like that cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven when he dies.
(37:219, December 27, 1970)