[00:07.32]Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision.
[00:11.37]We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent.
[00:16.08]We are traveling by train.
[00:18.37]Out the windows, we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways,
[00:24.60]of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside,
[00:29.96]of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn and wheat,
[00:35.54]of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides,
[00:40.25]of city skylines and village halls.
[00:43.31]But uppermost in our minds is the final destination.
[00:47.03]On a certain day at a certain hour, we will pull in the station.
[00:50.96]Bands will be playing and flags waving.
[00:53.81]Once we get there, so many wonderful dreams will come true
[00:57.20]and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle.
[01:01.35]How restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for loitering—
[01:06.19]waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.
[01:09.04]“When we reach the station, that will be it!”We cry.
[01:12.43]“When I’m 18.”“When I buy a new 450SL Mercedes Benz!”
[01:17.58]“When I put the last kid through college.”
[01:20.10]“When I have paid off the mortgage!”“When I get a promotion.”
[01:23.93]“When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after!”
[01:28.19]Sooner or later, we must realize there is no station,
[01:33.22]no one place to arrive at once and for all.
[01:36.72]The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream.
[01:41.09]It constantly outdistances us.
[01:43.50]“Relish the moment”is a good motto,
[01:46.68]especially when coupled with Psalm 118：24：
[01:50.72]“This is the day which the Lord hath made;
[01:53.89]we will rejoice and be glad in it.”
[01:56.52]It isn’t the burdens of today that drive men mad.
[01:59.80]It is the regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow.
[02:03.96]Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.
[02:08.66]So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles.
[02:12.81]Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream,
[02:16.86]go barefoot more often, swim more rivers,
[02:20.03]watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less.
[02:24.19]Life must be lived as we go along.
[02:26.81]The station will come soon enough.
