THE STATION

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 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. Bands will be playing and flags waving. once we get there our dreams will come true, and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a 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 450SL 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.

 

 

 

오래전부터 좋아하던 글입니다.

인생의 여정속에서 순간을 만끽하는 것

3년전에 제 꿈은 우리식구들이 자기집을 갖고 편안하고

안정된 생활을 하는 것입니다.

그리고 지금의 제 꿈은 빨리 빚을 갚고 남편이 편안한

생활을 하는 것인데

그 과정은 생활속에 오늘의 희생과 더불어 실현이 됩니다.

한 과정에 너무 많은 힘을 소모하여 순간을 만끽할 힘이 없다면

그 인생은 성공한 것이 아닐 것입니다.

 

그리고 나중에 종착역이 없다는 것을 알고 행복하지 않다면

그것은 비극이겠지요

순간을 행복하게 보내면서

그리고 꿈을 버리지 말고

산다는 것 -이것이 저의 좌우명일지 모릅니다.

 

이제 이 글이 나온 신사고 수능영어를 접고

다시 본격적인 수험생이 되어야 할 것 같은데

수험생, 죽을 만큼 힘들지만

많은 좋은 글들을 읽으면서

그 기간이 행복하였노라 하고 나중에 말할 수 있으면

좋겠습니다.

 

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