Don't be afraid to find closure

by Carol
(West Chester)

For 14 years I have been a widow. Not a happy marriage in the last years. Won't bore you with that story.

In my mind, I always wondered about the guy who asked me to marry him and move to California - I live on the East Coast. With Google I saw the house he had bought for me, his phone number - Wanting to call him I hesitated each time. I was 110 lbs when he last saw me, 50 years ago. I had gained weight, went to college in my mid-40s. All kinds of excuses - sure he is married happily, etc.

Finally, after 10 years of yo-yoing in my mind, I sat at my computer - the next day was Valentine's Day. I was determined to call him and say "Hello, I still love you".

I typed in his name and his obit came up. He had died the week before.

Never married, his two passions in life as noted by his neighbors was the brand of car I had when he knew me, and trains, I had worked for transportation in that field. Every day I regret that I did not make that phone call earlier.

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Thank you Ben
by: Carol

Ben, Your response is spot on. Taking your good advice and moving the station onward.
The Station - by Robert Hastings
by: Ben, KY

A reminder that the joy of life is the journey and not the destination.

Tucked away in our subconscious minds 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 hills, of biting winter and blazing summer and cavorting spring and docile fall.

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 we 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 win a promotion, 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 which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." It isn’t the burdens of today that drive men 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 oftener, 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.

This has been my go-to piece many times. I hope you enjoy it also.

Ben

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