The Practicon Viewpoint by Ann Page Griffin

WHY DO FEELINGS OF DISSATISFACTION KEEP CREEPING INTO MY MIND?

Are you on the imaginary train to reach some goal that will spell ultimate success? Many of us hop aboard early in our careers and fail to recognize the stations where we could get off. We’re constantly striving, never quite good enough, sensing pressure and stress where none should exist. And we constantly have in mind some new station, some lofty new achievement, as we struggle toward a pie-in-the-sky goal that continues to elude us.

The following piece may give you, as it did me, pause for thought. It reminded me that life is to be lived and enjoyed day by day, in the present, rather than spent pining for some event, activity, or achievement that may or may not happen—and, even if it does happen, may or may not satisfy us.

The Station by Robert J. Hastings

Tucked away in our subconscious mind 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.

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, damning 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 I reach 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 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 that the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” It isn’t the burdens of today that drive men and women 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.