Railroad Tracks

When I was young in the country, we often took walks on Sunday afternoons.
We'd walk through the fields until we reached the railroad tracks and then we would balance ourselves on the rails as if we were walking on a balance beam. Sometimes, we'd stop in at our Amish neighbors. I remember how cool and dark it was inside their house. I remember how it smelled.

I read something recently written by a man who has had huge spiritual and financial success.
His wife has cancer. She's not doing well. He said that life is like railroad tracks. I've been thinking about what he said.

On one track, we are experiencing the good things in life.
On the other track, we are experiencing the difficult things in life.
The tracks travel together.
We can't go anywhere without both tracks being side by side.

In any given day, we may be experiencing the joy of love and laughter.
A few minutes later, life may have taken a drastic turn and given us sorrow.

But both tracks are part of our lives.
Even in joy and laughter, there is sorrow and death.
And even in sorrow and death, there is joy and laughter.

We are on the tracks and we don't know where they are going today
but we know our destined end.

And we laugh and we cry.
We cry and we laugh.
But mostly, we live.

We live deeply and fully
and walk the balance beam
on both railroad tracks of life.