Destination…

One of our most common characteristics is that we seldom seem to arrive at precisely where we think we want to go. It is a restless world. And the chances are that even those who have what we think they would want, don’t have quite what they think they want. We are pressed into pursuing many purposes, but it almost always seems that we are occupied with the pursuit rather than with the satisfied enjoyment of what we have already arrived at. Anticipation almost always exceeds realization. We are often eager to go, but glad to be back, and then soon bored with being back, and eager to go again. We are often impatient with the present, and impatient with the present, and impatient for the future to unfold. Of course, part of the future unfolds each day, but we are impatient for yet some further future, and what we though would satisfy yesterday, we find on acquisition, does not so fully satisfy today. We seldom seem content with the conquests of the past, but are ever after added experience and ever reaching for what is just a bit beyond. There may be much more restlessness in life than should be so; but part of it, no doubt, is intended to be so, because our existence here is not in itself an end. Life is a journey and not a destination, an eternal journey, in which here or hereafter there will always be something to beckon us on. There may be periods of brief content. There may be periods of precious rest and of pausing between pursuits. But it doesn’t seem to be in the nature of things for us to be too completely content, and even when we acquire what we think would make us so, there is ever within us the spirit of moving on⎯for immortal man must always have unconquered conquests, and a large part of the pleasure is in the pursuing. We may be grateful that there are always unaccomplished purposes, here and hereafter, and we may be comforted that we can look forward to being again with those who have gone before⎯for man is on an eternal march and this very restlessness is added evidence that we are ever on our way.