The Station (adapted from a poem by Robert Hastings)
Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent. We are traveling by train. Out the window we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at the crossing, of cattle grazing a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn and wheat, of flat lands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls.
But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour we will pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once we get there, so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle.
How restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for loitering-waiting for the station.
-"When we reach the station, that will be it!" -" When I'm 50 years old, that will be it." - "When I have put the last child through college……" - " When I have paid off the mortgage…" - "When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after!"
Sooner or later we must realize there is no 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 out-distances us.
"Relish the moment" is a good motto. It isn't the burdens of today that drive men mad. It is the regrets and 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.