The Station Will Come Soon Enough

As someone who spends an inordinate amount of time reading, whether books or some Twitter stream, I have spent my life becoming quite fond of collecting quotes and feeling a connection to a piece of writing. The number of times I've thought, "Okay, this person CLEARLY is spying on me because everything they said is actually what I think"... well, I've actually never thought that, but I do gather quite a bit of inspiration from what others have expressed.

To keep track of these bon mots, I've started a "quotes journal" (because I'm a 13 year old girl) where I jot down my favorite thoughts and sentences, from such wide-ranging sources as travel blog posts, famous inspirational figures, and popular YA novels like Delirium and Divergent. No shame.

I was perusing one of the hundreds of travel blogs I've been reading in preparation for, you know, my upcoming life when I stumbled across the following passage. I was struck by it mostly because I distinctly remember years ago - probably when I was about 13 - I first read it (I think in a Chicken Soup book or something. Hey, what happened to those?). I was so affected by it that I wrote down the last line on a strip of red construction paper and pasted it to the top of my computer monitor so I would always remember. This was also about the time that I wrote my top travel goals down and stuffed it for safekeeping behind a picture in my room. I would kill to know what happened to that list after my parents moved out of that house, if only to see how my dreams have - or haven't - changed since then.

So, here it is - the source of inspiration for 13 year old Kristen and 24 year old Kristen:

Tucked away in our subconscious minds is an idyllic vision in which we see ourselves on a long journey that spans an entire continent… But uppermost in our conscious minds is our final destination–for at a certain hour and on a given day, our train will finally pull into the station with bells ringing, flags waving, and bands playing. And once that day comes, so many wonderful dreams will come true.

So restlessly, we pace the aisles and count the miles, peering ahead, waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.“Yes, when we reach the station, that will be it!” we promise ourselves. “When we’re eighteen. . . win that promotion. . . put the last kid through college. . . buy that 450SL Mercedes-Benz. . . have a nest egg for retirement!” From that day on we will all live happily ever after. Sooner or later, however, we must realize there is no station in this life, no one earthly place to arrive at once and for all. The journey is the joy. The station is an illusion–it constantly outdistances us…

So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, swim more rivers, climb more mountains, kiss more babies, count more stars. Laugh more and cry less. Go barefoot oftener. Eat more ice cream. Ride more merry-go-rounds. Watch more sunsets. Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soon enough. -Robert J. Hastings

Cat! It's just livin' life, one ray of sun at a time.