ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent. We are
traveling by train. 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
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, 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 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 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
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
