To the Horizon

Railroad tracks heading north out of
Madison.  6/8/2019 dwm photo

When I looked off a bridge on a recent bike ride, I was struck by how the tracks disappeared into the horizon.

The long, straight stretch looks hopeless or like an odyssey of opportunity.

If the destination is at the end of the line, I'm not sure if you'll ever reach it as the rails keep going and going.

We face literal and figurative trips that seem as though there is no way we will ever reach the station or our destination.

Maybe it's a promotion at work we are hoping to earn.  Perhaps it's a relationship stuck in second gear and despite your best efforts it never gets anywhere.

Just when it seems a never-ending journey; it is a good time to take your eyes off the destination and look at where you stand.  You'll notice the hills have dropped into a valley with fertile land and abundant crops.

It might be the perfect place to get off a while; catch your breath; and calibrate your bearings.  If you don't measure your progress against where you've been, you'll never know when you arrive.

Look closer at your surroundings and you may notice a path you never contemplated, which seems like it is worth exploring.  I can't count how many times the place I ended up was never on my map.

You can see a shut door slammed in your face.  Or, you can notice the light shining on the threshold.

What are you going to do; give up and walk away or boldly knock and see what's inside?