THE STATION: The True Joy of Life is the Trip – The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.

train

THE STATION

By Robert J. Hastings

”TUCKED AWAY in our subconscious minds is an idyllic vision.  We see ourselves on a long, long trip that almost spans the continent.  We’re traveling by passenger train, and 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, of biting winter and blazing summer and cavorting spring and docile fall.

But uppermost in our minds is the final destination.  On a certain day at a certain hour we will pull into the station.  There will be bands playing and flags waving.  And once we get there so many wonderful dreams will come true.  So many wishes will be fulfilled and so many pieces of our lives finally will be neatly fitted together like a completed jigsaw puzzle.  How restlessly we pace the aisles, damming the minutes for loitering, waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.

However, sooner or later we must realize there is no one 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.

When we get to the station, ‘ that will be it!’ we cry.  Translated it means, ‘When I’m 18 that will be it!  When I buy a new 450 SL Mercedes Benz, that will be it!  When I put the last kid through college that will be it!  When I have paid off the mortgage that will be it!  When I win a promotion that will be it!  When I reach the age of retirement that will be it!  I shall live happily ever after!’

Unfortunately, once we get ‘it’ then ‘it’ disappears.  The station somehow hides itself at the end of an endless track.

‘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.  Rather, it is regret over yesterday or fear of tomorrow.  Regret and fear are twin thieves who would 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 and cry less.  Life must be lived as we go along.  The station will come soon enough.”

Robert J. Hastings
http://www.lifeisgodsnovel.wordpress.com

gisborne airport

Picture: Gisborne (New Zealand’s unique airport)  from http://www.gisborneherald.co.nz

PPS

Don’t worry about the world ending today…

it’s already tomorrow in “the little scenic and tranquil haven” that is New Zealand (or “Godzone” as it is sometimes affectionately known)

dawn-best21

11 thoughts on “THE STATION: The True Joy of Life is the Trip – The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.

  1. Reblogged this on BOOKS BY CRAIG LOCK.

    To my “cyber-friends/pals” around the world….
    Thanks for the follow/link/like/reblog and/or kind thought(s)
    Hi everyone
    I do really appreciate your liking, linking to and/or following this blog (and “writing in”), so “thanks to YOU all for the thanx” (in thought)
    if you want to follow me, go to http://www.craigsblogs.wordpress.com
    and/or http://www.craigsbooks.wordpress.com (to find one or two that may perhaps be of interest)
    Though my family and close friends say it would be far more entertaining with a video-camera* in the “real world”, rather than in cyberspace!)
    * By the way, do they still make them in today’s ever-faster changing world..or is it all done with mobile phones?
    (get with the times now,”luddite”* c – it should be a smart phone)
    * or so I was often called by my “my techno-geek” friend, Bill (“the gonk”)
    “total non-techno” c (who doesn’t possess a mobile phone, after a rather eventful’ experience some years back, whilst trying to walk, talk and chew gum at the same time) #
    Who says men can’t multi-task!
    “The impossible we do immediately. Miracles take a little longer.”
    # (You may think I’m joking, but just ask my friends!)
    Men…Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em!
    “You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.”
    – Colette (nice name for a girl, btw)
    Now back to the message I was posting before I got distracted
    enjoy anyway
    “totally impulsive + “early bird”* c
    * my “best” time (by far)
    #
    Hi
    CAN’T KEEP UP…BUT THANKS FOR THE “THANX”
    I’ve had many many hundreds of thousands (even “zillions”) of comments on my various other WordPress blogs at https://craigsblogs.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/craigs-list-of-blogs-updated-sept-2011/
    in recent years …true!). A few of my blogs went “balistically viral” a few years back and I got swamped with comments on my various blogs… so had to close them all off.
    Obsessive or WHAT! Am really pleased you are enjoying my writings, as the reason I write is to share.
    Though I’m rather “driven”, I still get really, really fatigued (there’s a few books there). So sorry can’t reply individually to all you good people scattered around the planet. As mentioned (stop repeating yourself, c – bad writing…otherwise the first signs of approaching senility!), I was unable to keep up with the comments and was spending entire days just on replies on my various blog pages, so had to close them off on all of my blogs, except for one or two of particular interest to me.
    Sorry and hope you can understand.
    “Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.”
    ~ Franz Kafka
    I do really appreciate your liking, linking to and/or following this blog (and “writing in”), so “thanks for the thanx”
    “As we live and move and have our being, so from this vision, we create heaven in our own lives… and perhaps even heaven on earth.”
    – craig (as inspired by Acts 17:28 and the words of Felicia Searcy)
    “Aim at the earth and you may not get off the ground.a
    “Aim at the stars and you may reach the moon.”
    “Aim at heaven and you’ll have earth thrown in…
    and you may even hit the stars.”
    – craig (as inspired by the famous quote by CS Lewis – 24th May 2012)
    “When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”
    – Leonardo da Vinci
    When (or if ever) you arrive in heaven, let faith, hope and love be the wings that carried you there.”
    – as adapted from the inspiring words of Jonathan Edwards, former minister in New England, Massachusetts
    “The Greatest Race: Living by (with) faith, hope and love is the highest podium any person can reach, God’s podium that anyone stand on.”
    – c
    “Having pursued the goals, the dreams set before us and run the race with persistence and endurance, after giving it all. Then one day standing on the summit of life, breathing in the pure sweet oxygen of achievement, totally satisfied in running the greatest race, the race of life one that ANYONE can run and win.”
    from http://racetothechequeredflag.wordpress.com/
    and http://www.godandformula1.wordpress.com
    “If a man is called to be a street-sweeper,
    he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted,
    or Beethoven composed music, or
    Shakespeare wrote poetry.
    He should sweep streets so well
    that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say,
    here lived a great street sweeper
    who did his job well.”
    – Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.
    PPS
    Instead of trying to reply to each one of you, I’ll just keep on writing (which I’m often told is what is “safest” for me!)
    “If the doctor told me I had six minutes to live, I’d type a little faster.”
    The various books* that Craig “felt inspired to write” are available at http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005GGMAW4
    http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=la_B005GGMAW4_sr?rh=i%3Abooks&field-author=Craig+Lock
    https://www.createspace.com/pub/simplesitesearch.search.do?sitesearch_query=%22craig+lock%22&sitesearch_type=STORE
    http://www.creativekiwis.com/index.php/books
    and http://goo.gl/vTpjk
    All proceeds go to needy and underprivileged children –
    MINE!
    “When the writer is no more , the value of your purchase will soar! ”
    Don’t worry about the world ending today…
    as it’s already tomorrow in scenic and tranquil ‘little’ New Zealand
    PPS
    “I wish you well on a rainy day
    I wish you rainbows to brighten your day
    To feel your quiet moments with a special kind of warmth
    to remind you that happiness can happen
    when you least expect it.
    I wish you rainbows to make you laugh and smile
    to show you the simple beauty of life
    and to give you the magic of dreams come true.
    I wish you rainbows
    I wish you well.”
    – Larry S. Chengges
    ”Since I can never see your face,
    And never shake you by the hand,
    I send my soul through time and space
    To greet you. You will understand.”
    – James Elroy Flecker (1884-1915

    Like

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  5. Pingback: The True Joy of Life is the Trip | Self Help (Personal Growth) Books

  6. To my “cyber-friends/pals” around the world….
    Thanks for the follow/link/like/reblog and/or kind thought(s)
    Hi everyone
    I do really appreciate your liking, linking to and/or following this blog (and “writing in”), so “thanks to YOU all for the thanx” (in thought)
    if you want to follow me, go to http://www.craigsblogs.wordpress.com
    and/or http://www.craigsbooks.wordpress.com (to find one or two that may perhaps be of interest)
    Though my family and close friends say it would be far more entertaining with a video-camera* in the “real world”, rather than in cyberspace!)
    * By the way, do they still make them in today’s ever-faster changing world..or is it all done with mobile phones?
    (get with the times now,”luddite”* c – it should be a smart phone)
    * or so I was often called by my “my techno-geek” friend, Bill (“the gonk”)
    “total non-techno” c (who doesn’t possess a mobile phone, after a rather eventful’ experience some years back, whilst trying to walk, talk and chew gum at the same time) #
    Who says men can’t multi-task!
    “The impossible we do immediately. Miracles take a little longer.”
    # (You may think I’m joking, but just ask my friends!)
    Men…Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em!
    “You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.”
    – Colette (nice name for a girl, btw)
    Now back to the message I was posting before I got distracted
    enjoy anyway
    “totally impulsive + “early bird”* c
    * my “best” time (by far)
    #
    Hi
    CAN’T KEEP UP…BUT THANKS FOR THE “THANX”
    I’ve had many many hundreds of thousands (even “zillions”) of comments on my various other WordPress blogs at https://craigsblogs.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/craigs-list-of-blogs-updated-sept-2011/
    in recent years …true!). A few of my blogs went “balistically viral” a few years back and I got swamped with comments on my various blogs… so had to close them all off.
    Obsessive or WHAT! Am really pleased you are enjoying my writings, as the reason I write is to share.
    Though I’m rather “driven”, I still get really, really fatigued (there’s a few books there). So sorry can’t reply individually to all you good people scattered around the planet. As mentioned (stop repeating yourself, c – bad writing…otherwise the first signs of approaching senility!), I was unable to keep up with the comments and was spending entire days just on replies on my various blog pages, so had to close them off on all of my blogs, except for one or two of particular interest to me.
    Sorry and hope you can understand.
    “Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.”
    ~ Franz Kafka
    I do really appreciate your liking, linking to and/or following this blog (and “writing in”), so “thanks for the thanx”
    “As we live and move and have our being, so from this vision, we create heaven in our own lives… and perhaps even heaven on earth.”
    – craig (as inspired by Acts 17:28 and the words of Felicia Searcy)
    “Aim at the earth and you may not get off the ground.a
    “Aim at the stars and you may reach the moon.”
    “Aim at heaven and you’ll have earth thrown in…
    and you may even hit the stars.”
    – craig (as inspired by the famous quote by CS Lewis – 24th May 2012)
    “When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”
    – Leonardo da Vinci
    When (or if ever) you arrive in heaven, let faith, hope and love be the wings that carried you there.”
    – as adapted from the inspiring words of Jonathan Edwards, former minister in New England, Massachusetts
    “The Greatest Race: Living by (with) faith, hope and love is the highest podium any person can reach, God’s podium that anyone stand on.”
    – c
    “Having pursued the goals, the dreams set before us and run the race with persistence and endurance, after giving it all. Then one day standing on the summit of life, breathing in the pure sweet oxygen of achievement, totally satisfied in running the greatest race, the race of life one that ANYONE can run and win.”
    from http://racetothechequeredflag.wordpress.com/
    and http://www.godandformula1.wordpress.com
    “If a man is called to be a street-sweeper,
    he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted,
    or Beethoven composed music, or
    Shakespeare wrote poetry.
    He should sweep streets so well
    that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say,
    here lived a great street sweeper
    who did his job well.”
    – Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.
    PPS
    Instead of trying to reply to each one of you, I’ll just keep on writing (which I’m often told is what is “safest” for me!)
    “If the doctor told me I had six minutes to live, I’d type a little faster.”
    The various books* that Craig “felt inspired to write” are available at http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005GGMAW4
    http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=la_B005GGMAW4_sr?rh=i%3Abooks&field-author=Craig+Lock
    https://www.createspace.com/pub/simplesitesearch.search.do?sitesearch_query=%22craig+lock%22&sitesearch_type=STORE
    http://www.creativekiwis.com/index.php/books
    and http://goo.gl/vTpjk
    All proceeds go to needy and underprivileged children –
    MINE!
    “When the writer is no more , the value of your purchase will soar! ”
    Don’t worry about the world ending today…
    as it’s already tomorrow in scenic and tranquil ‘little’ New Zealand
    PPS
    “I wish you well on a rainy day
    I wish you rainbows to brighten your day
    To feel your quiet moments with a special kind of warmth
    to remind you that happiness can happen
    when you least expect it.
    I wish you rainbows to make you laugh and smile
    to show you the simple beauty of life
    and to give you the magic of dreams come true.
    I wish you rainbows
    I wish you well.”
    – Larry S. Chengges
    ”Since I can never see your face,
    And never shake you by the hand,
    I send my soul through time and space
    To greet you. You will understand.”
    – James Elroy Flecker (1884-1915

    Like

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  8. Pingback: The Station — BooKs by cRaig loCk | Craig's Books

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