Living Well or Waiting Until...

THE STATION

Robert J. 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 windows we drink in the passing scene...

--of cars on nearby highways,

--of children waving at the crossing,

--of cattle grazing on a distant hillside,

--of smoke pouring from a power plant,

--row upon row of corn and wheat,

--of flatlands and valleys,

--of city skylines and villages...

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, cursing 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 put the last kid through college."

"When I buy a new Mercedes."

"When I have the mortgage paid off."

"When I get a promotion."

"When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after."

Sooner or later, we must realize that there is no station,

no place to arrive 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 burden of today that drives men mad .

It is the regrets of yesterday and the fear of tomorrow.

So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles.

Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, swim more rivers,

watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less.

Life must be lived as we go along!

I love this piece! I don't even know where I got it but I have a thick green folder of poems, great quotes, especially timely sermons notes, profound discoveries and simple statements that it has been living in for quite some time. If I lost this folder, I would really regret having lost all these little gems collected along the journey up to this point. I pull this piece out from time to time to remind myself that life is indeed for living and for living well rather than getting through or waiting until... Life is what God ordained but it is also what you make it.

• When is the last time you went to a triple A baseball game just for "funsies" and ate ice cream out of a baseball helmet?
• When is the last time you took your journal to the top of the highest hill in your neighborhood park and wrote about the ways that God shows you He loves you..from the green prickly grass your sitting on, to the kids squealing on the slip and slide, to the vision of a blooming fuchsia hibiscus plant?
• When is the last time you called your grandfather or your great aunt to spend time talking about "things that matter", though we might not yet realize how much that conversation really does matter?
• When was the last time you put off taking care of something that you really thought you should do due to financial constraints or lack of time?

Time goes on and doesn't stop until there is no more time. Life is worth living and living well. Don't wait to reach the station. Don't wait until you have "enough" money (because you will NEVER have enough). Don't wait until you meet your spouse. Don't wait until you have kids. Don't wait until you have more time (because you will NEVER have more time than now).

Don't wait.

Live...

Reflect...

Grow...

Enjoy...

Take Chances...

Learn....

Change...

Go...

Embrace...

Teach...

Love...

Do all these things and do them well.

Do them now.

Don't wait for the Station because the train has pulled out.