by Robert J. Hastings
Tucked away in our subconscious minds is an idyllic
vision. We see ourselves on a long, long trip that almost
spans the continent. We're traveling by passenger train, and
out the windows we drink in the passing scene of cars on
nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle
grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power
plant, of row upon row of corn and wheat, of flatlands and
valleys, of mountains and rolling hills, of biting winter
and blazing summer and cavorting spring and docile fall.
But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a
certain day at a certain hour we will pull into the station.
There sill be bands playing, and flags waving. And once we
get there so many wonderful dreams will come true. So many
wishes will be fulfilled and so many pieces of our lives
finally will be neatly fitted together like a completed
jigsaw puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles, damning
the minutes for loitering ... waiting, waiting, waiting, for
the station.
However, sooner or later we must realize there is no one
station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The
true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream.
It constantly outdistances us.
"When we reach the station, that will be it !" we cry.
Translated it means, "When I'm 18, that will be it ! When I
buy a new 450 SL Mercedes Benz, that will be it ! When I put
the last kid through college, that will be it ! When I have
paid off the mortgage, that will be it ! When I win a
promotion, that will be it ! When I reach the age of
retirement, that will be it ! I shall live happily ever
after !"
Unfortunately, once we get it, then it disappears. The
station somehow hides itself at the end of an endless track.
"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. Rather, it is regret
over yesterday or fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin
thieves who would rob us of today.
So, stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles.
Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go
barefoot oftener, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets,
laugh more and cry less. Life must be lived as we go along.
The station will come soon enough.
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