By Robert J.Hastings
Tucked away in our?subconscious?is anidyllic（牧歌的）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（至上的）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 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（超越）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. In stead, 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.
