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New Year, New Life Resolution
>> Wednesday, December 31, 2008
While looking through some of my stuff , I came across the article that we found posted on the wall in Dad's "office" after he died, on which Mark based his eulogy. I think it is fitting to post on this blog as something we can always remember....laugh more, cry less; live our lives today
Love, Peg
Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent. We're traveling by train and out the window, we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways; of children waving at the crossing; of cattle grazing on distant hillsides; of flatland and valleys; of mountains and rolling hillsides; of city skylines and town halls.
But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day, at a certain hour, we'll pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags waving. And once we get there, so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will finally fit together like a complete jigsaw puzzle.
How restlessly we pace the aisles of the train, damning the minutes for loitering: waiting, waiting, waiting for the station. "When will we reach the station," we cry. When I turn 18, when I buy a new Mercedes; when I put my last child through college; when I pay off the mortgage; when I get a promotion; when I reach the age of retirement.
Sooner or later, we must realize that there is no station-- no 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 the moment" is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalms 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 the day that drive men mad, it's the regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Stop pacing the aisles, stop counting the miles. Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soon enough.
It was a beautiful day in the country.
