Life is a series of interruptions.
My friend told me that one the other day. Isn’t that true?
I find myself longing for the days when everything is just “normal”. Nobody is sick, it’s not a half day at school, we don’t need a new refrigerator, our basement hasn’t flooded, it’s not a birthday, we don’t have to travel…you get my point. It seems like every day it’s something.
But this is life. The interruptions are life. Life is happening now. We can’t wait for it to be “normal” so we can get on with our plans. We have to accept whatever “this” is as “normal” and live it.
It’s not time to follow your dreams when your kids are grown or when you have more money or when you move into a bigger house or when you finish your degree. All of those things may happen or none of them will, but your life is happening now. The time for following your dreams is now.
What are you going to do today that you want to do? What are you going to do today that brings you joy? When you look back on today, what will you be glad you did? Who do you want to BE?
Don’t be afraid your life will end; be afraid it will never begin.
-Grace Hansen
Totally reminds me of the poem “The Station”, by Robert Hastings. We had this read at our wedding. I loved it then, still love it now. Thanks for the reminder of living today, Sue! (Eat more ice cream….)
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 window 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, or 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.
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’m 18.” “When I buy a new SL 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 not 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 in 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.
Can I get a big AMEN! Holy smokes, I spend each week hoping that the following week brings less “stuff” to worry about. I love when my kids say “why did you sign me up for……” “i didn’t ask to be in that sport!”. In the end, each week brings a lot more “stuff”, I guess I need to embrace it.