The life station
Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision. We are
traveling by train - out the windows, we drink in the passing
scenes of children waving at a crossing, cattle grazing on a
distant hillside, row upon row of corn and wheat, flatlands
and valleys, mountains and rolling hillsides and city skylines.
But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day, we will
pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once we get
there, our dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together
like a completed jigsaw puzzle. Restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the
minutes - waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.
"When we reach the station, that will be it!" we cry. "When I'm 18.” "When I
buy a new 450 SL Mercedes Benz!" "When I put the last kid through
college." "When I have paid off the mortgage!" "When I get a promotion."
"When I reach retirement, I shall live happily ever after!”
Sooner or later, we realize there is no station, no one place to arrive. The true
joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances
us.
"Relish the moment" is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm
118:24: "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be
glad in it." It isn't the burdens of today that drive men mad. It is the regrets
over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves
who rob us of today.
So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more
mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers,
watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less. Life must be lived as we go along.
The station will come soon enough.
- Robert J. Hastings
Never regret yesterday, life is in you today and you will make
your tomorrow.
