The 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 meet the station, that will be it!" we cry.
"When I'm 18." "When I buy a new 450sl Mercedes
Benz!" "When I put the last kid through college!"
"When I have paid off the 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 with 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
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Email: jlg@webtv.net