The Station...

     "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 windows we drink the passing scenes of cars on nearby highways, or children waving at a crossing, or cattle grazing on a distant hillside, or smoke pouring from a power plant, or row upon row of corn and wheat, of flat lands and valleys, or mountains and rolling hillsides, or city skylines and village halls.

     But uppermost on 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 am 18."  "When I buy my new 450SL Mercedes-Benz!"  "When I put the last kid through college."  "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 an illusion.  It constantly outdistances us.  

     "Relish the moment" is a good motto.  Especially when coupled with Psalms 118"24: "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us 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 fears 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, watch more sunsets, laugh more, and cry less.  Life must be lived as we go along.  The station will come soon enough. "- Robert Hastings

Tucked tightly inside of a holiday card sent by a dear friend, was this reminder of how life should be lived and savored. Fabulous advice for the start of the new year.  Resolve to leave regret and fear behind...Resolve to enjoy every moment of your journey!  That's one resolution you won't regret!