The Train Journey Of Life

Close your eyes and take an imaginary trip back along memory lane. Look back in wonder over your part in this amazing existence as if it were a train journey. Resolve to continue the journey with an attitude of gratitude and love. Enjoy!
Background music mix by Narek Mirzaei/Music of Wisdom

Transcript

Dear friends,

Welcome to this meditation where we will reflect on the train journey of life.

This was the subject of one of my live Wednesday meditations here on Insight Timer.

Some listeners said they'd like to go on this journey again and so here it is as a regular recording.

I hope you enjoy the trip.

I'm quite for our meditation.

I don't know about you but often I find my body in one place and my mind miles away.

Let's see if each of us can invite our minds back into this place where we're sitting right now.

We can do that by inviting our minds to concentrate on our breath.

No special breathing,

Just concentrating on the breath,

Although you can't do that at all.

So let's start.

What we want to do is to just come to notice ourselves here and now,

In this time and place,

Breathing in and breathing out.

That's it,

Just simply breathing in and breathing out and noticing how wonderful it is to be alive.

So let's sit in that awareness for a few seconds,

Becoming really grateful for the incredible gift of our existence in this time and place and for all our benefits.

So now to the train journey of life.

Today you and I are going on a train journey.

These next few minutes are the gift of imagination.

But the journey begins before we get to the train station.

Nine months earlier are their boats.

One day we find ourselves swimming in a warm ocean.

All is dark,

All is calm.

We hear a regular throbbing existence is just bliss,

Pure bliss.

Every so often we hear sounds coming from somewhere outside,

Distant mutterings in a language that means nothing to us.

Sometimes there's a melody of some sort coming from somewhere far far away.

Looking back over the years,

Can you recall the time before you were born?

Let's pause for a while,

Maybe 30 seconds,

And think of what sounds might have been popular as you floated back in time?

Welcome back.

Then one day a tiny chink of light appears.

What's this?

A spot of light.

It grows bigger and bigger.

It grows brighter and brighter and very quickly.

Next we find ourselves heading down a tunnel towards the light,

Falling unwittingly down the tunnel.

If we could stop we would,

But we're caught up in a torrent.

The light gets brighter and brighter,

So bright that we have to close our eyes.

And we keep our eyes closed because we're terrified of what might lie ahead.

Suddenly we find ourselves in a new world that's so bright we cannot open our eyes at all.

The dropping sound is gone.

The water is gone.

We find ourselves breathing something new,

Our first breath of air.

We give a cry,

Our very first sound.

We are out of the warm water now and we are wrapped up in something soft and are being held closely by someone warm and cuddly.

That was scary.

Our heart is racing,

But after a while we settle down and we feel all is well.

Shelley A.

Williamson wrote the following poem for the birth of a grandchild,

The Love of Shelley's Life.

Welcome to the world,

Little one.

You are finally here,

Created of love and wonder,

Your arrival joyously anticipated.

How eager to begin this journey called life.

Some of life's lessons will not be easily learned.

Lessons such as there is more joy in giving than in receiving.

Remember,

Possessions are meant to enhance life,

Not to become the focus of it.

Learn to be generous of spirit,

Love unconditionally and trust that those you love will love you in return.

Let dignity,

Faith and strength be your constant companions.

Expect to stumble and fall occasionally,

In all manner of things,

For such is learning.

There is no shame in this,

Only in failing to pull yourself up again.

It is such a wonderful world.

Walk it in wonder.

Get the most from each hour,

Each day,

Each age of your life.

Time will teach you that some of the most beautiful things in life are things never actually seen by man.

Things like faith,

Forgiveness and inspiration.

These things we see with our hearts.

From this day forward others will surround you to guide you,

Help and protect you.

Both learning and teaching,

Listening and speaking,

Leading and following.

May they be gentle in dealing with you.

Holding your hand as tenderly as you are held in the hand of God.

Welcome to the world,

Little one.

Words there from Shelley A.

Williamson.

At birth we are brought onto a train.

We hardly have our eyes open,

We know nothing about trains.

We mostly laugh when we are played with,

We cry when we are hungry or in pain.

As we get onto the train we are allocated a ticket.

We are far too young to be able to read,

So we have no idea of the expiry date or the destination station.

So it is put away for us.

Anyway who cares about the destination,

You have just come on board the train.

We are brought in arms into a carriage,

Laid in a cot on the seat.

The people around us are very excited to see us.

Most of them are kind people and most of the time they dote on us.

All the people around say,

Look at the baby,

Look at the baby.

So for a while we think our name is,

Look at the baby.

They say funny things like,

Ba ba and goo goo and they make funny faces and that makes us laugh every time.

Let's pause for a few moments to think of the people who looked after us in our early weeks and months on this train.

60 seconds,

Just a one minute pause.

Welcome back.

We are passed around from one person to the other.

Everyone in the carriage is so pleased to see us.

Some people have cameras that blind us with a big flash.

But most of the time we sleep and the days and the nights go by,

Crying when we are hungry,

Drinking milk,

Getting rubbed in the back.

That makes us give a big burp and we get our nappies changed and we sleep.

Lots and lots of sleeping.

One day someone lifts us up by the arms.

They let our legs dangle on the floor.

We put one foot in front of the other and we discover that we can walk.

At first by holding onto the seats.

Each time we let go of the seats we fall back on our bum.

But this isn't sore,

We are such a big nappy.

And after a while we discover we can walk without falling.

We can even run and climb.

And we are growing so very fast.

Time passes and we reach the age of four or five and then we are ushered into a new carriage marked school.

We have no idea what awaits us in this carriage.

But we enter with a mixture of excitement and fear.

To send us on our way we are given a quote from Dr.

Seuss.

You're off to a great place.

Today is your day.

Your mountain is waiting,

So get on your way.

We hope it will be a great place.

We get to meet teachers and new friends.

Teachers who are good and kind and maybe some teachers who are cross and impatient.

We have classmates who are fun to be with but others who can be little bullies.

We learn to read and write and play.

We learn to share.

We learn how to get on with people.

We might find friends there who come along with us into other carriages as we explore this train.

And then just as we are getting to feel at home we are told we have to leave and move on to the next carriage.

We are learning early on that the only thing we can be sure of on this journey is that change happens all the time.

Paolo Cello tells us,

When we least expect it,

Life sets us up a challenge to test our courage and willingness.

Our courage and willingness to change.

At such a moment there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready.

The challenge will not wait.

Words of Paolo Cello.

And so it goes on.

A carriage marked big school,

Then bigger school,

Then college and this is something different again.

Our next pause is to look back on our school and college days.

The happy days.

Maybe some challenging days too.

The teachers and the people we liked.

The people who inspired us and motivated us.

We remember also the people we didn't get on with.

We didn't get on so very well with some people.

We find we have had the good,

The bad,

The in-between.

But the important thing is we got through this.

We learned our lessons and we also learned about people and about life.

So a one minute pause,

Sixty seconds to think about these days.

Welcome back.

As the journey continues we begin to explore other carriages in the train.

Carriages marked work.

Carriages marked holidays and adventure.

Carriages marked hobbies and skills.

And in all of these places we met people,

We developed relationships and we think back on the people we met and the friendships we made in these early days of our lives when we were young.

A song comes over the sound system of the train.

The words,

Golden days in the sunshine of our happy youth.

Golden days full of innocence and full of truth.

But we don't pay that much attention.

It's an old fashioned song from some musical based on a 19th century story.

It's only years later when we hear it again we realise the wisdom of its closing words.

We will know life has nothing sweeter than its springtime.

And so the journey proceeds.

We notice new people getting on the train.

Some come on as babies like we did.

Others are adults who must have decided to join this train at one of the junctions along the way.

We see other people leaving.

At first we don't know any of the people who are leaving.

But as time goes on we recognise more of the people who are getting off.

They are people we met in school or college or work.

Some get off before we get a chance to say goodbye.

Some of these people seem to be packed and ready.

They get off,

They are carrying big suitcases and bags and they stand for a while near the door until the train comes to a stop at their station.

But we see other people standing up and rushing to step off without suitcases as if they have just remembered their station at the last minute.

We often wonder why these new people are getting onto this train.

Where have they come from?

And are they looking to go to the same place as us?

Are they intending to stay on until our train's final stop?

And we wonder where the other people are going to when they get off the train.

Are they trying to catch another train for another destination and where might that be?

In our journey of life we have seen people join us for part of the journey.

They may have been here before we got on.

People like parents and grandparents.

They may have come on somewhere along the way.

New brothers and sisters.

New people who become friends and partners.

Let's stop now to give thanks.

Thanks for the people who are still with us.

Having them with us today is a real gift.

We have to be thankful for each and every one of them.

Another one minute to us.

Welcome back again.

Sometimes we find troublemakers coming into our carriage.

These people treat us badly just because they see us as different.

We might be black,

They might be white or vice versa.

They might treat other people badly too.

This is hard to understand since we are all on the train together and all headed in the same direction.

In the journey of life we come across discrimination on many grounds.

Race,

Colour,

Age,

Gender,

Sexual orientation.

Bernice King tells us,

Seek out your brothers and sisters of other cultures and join together in building alliances to put an end to all forms of racial discrimination,

Bigotry and prejudice.

She goes on,

There are people of goodwill of all races,

Religions and nations who will join you in common quest for the betterment of society.

Do we stand up for the equal rights of all people?

Do we celebrate difference whenever we come across it?

Just imagine how boring it would be if we were all the same,

Like peas in a pod.

Like thousands and millions of identical twins.

As we explore the carriages we come across so many different people.

Sometimes people come on just to lecture and give directions.

They can seem very sure of themselves.

They lecture us on how the journey should proceed and they seem very certain of the destination.

They don't listen to the opinions of other people.

They even say that those who don't agree with them will not be allowed out at the final destination.

Some of the passengers believe these people.

Without question they follow the rules that they are given,

But other people pay no attention to them at all.

They decide to figure out their own ideas as the journey goes on.

And other group of people don't even bother to ask where the train is headed.

That seems odd.

It reminds us of a poem called Starlight.

When I behold the canopy of stars and contemplate immensity of space,

Man's unmanned landers dig and probe on Mars for evidence of life to find a trace.

It matters not to me if they should find that we are all alone,

Though that I doubt.

The search is all that matters to my mind.

The eagerness to probe,

Explore,

Find out.

Some claim this wondrous world a turn of chance,

While others say it is a work of God.

Some ponder not,

Make merry,

Sing and dance,

And wonder not.

I find that sadly odd.

So feeble are the greatest minds of men.

In vastness,

None can hope to comprehend.

In short,

We may never find all the answers,

But we cannot decide not to search.

Let's take another pause to notice all the directions that have been offered to us on this journey.

Which of these directions have we followed?

Have we remained open to all possibilities?

A 60-second pause.

Welcome back.

And as the train journey continues,

Different incidents happen along the way.

One day,

The catering car breaks down,

And for a while,

Everyone is short of food.

Once or twice,

We remember a big row starting in one carriage,

And it spread over into the whole train,

And people started fighting and attacking each other.

That was very frightening,

People even got killed before that row finally ended.

And there were other incidents along the way.

People becoming ill in one carriage,

And the illness spreading from carriage to carriage.

On other days,

Power shortages,

Lights go out,

We have to manage with candles.

Let's take another pause now to think of significant events that have occurred on our journey of life.

Rows and arguments,

Wars of sorts.

Are they sorted?

If not,

Can we make a move to settle matters now?

We think of illnesses we've had along the way.

Who has helped us through them?

We give thanks.

We think of shortages,

How people have helped us in our time of need.

And have we shared our money and our time and talents with people in need?

A one minute pause.

A one minute pause.

Welcome back again.

At times people even jump off the train of life.

They feel too scared to stay on board.

That is a great pity,

And everyone is left feeling lost when that happens.

The people who take their own lives have no idea of the pain that is suffered by those they leave behind.

If only people could realise how important their life is,

Each and every life,

How much they mean to other people.

If they realised this,

They would not give in to despair.

Later everyone says,

Why didn't these people tell me they were scared or depressed?

And I would have looked after them.

We all would,

If only we had known.

If only.

This quote appears on a website,

Mentalhealthdaily.

Com.

It comes from Harriet Beecher Stowe.

When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you,

Till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer,

Never give up then,

For that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.

The same site offers this advice too.

When people are stuck in a deep depression or facing any difficult challenge,

It is often appealing to give up on life.

If you feel as though you can no longer weather the storm of depressive emotion,

This exactly is when you need to dig deeper and push yourself to survive this challenge.

Depressive emotion is never permanent.

Feelings of pleasure and happiness will return,

And when they do you'll be glad you were strong enough to continue living.

Pleasure and pain are two aspects of life,

I.

E.

Yin and yang.

They are inescapable.

If you are experiencing the painful side of the coin right now,

You will inevitably experience the pleasurable side in the future.

The tide will turn.

Advice from MentalHealthDaily.

Com So we pause now to think of people lost through suicide.

We think of their families and friends.

Let's just hope to watch out for one another.

Let people know they are cared for.

Urge people to speak to someone,

To anyone,

If they feel depressed or unable to cope.

All it takes is a phone call.

Don't let anyone be slow to make that call.

Let's pause now for 60 seconds.

Welcome back.

Along this train journey we come across junctions where other train lines intersect with ours.

People can change trains at these places,

Just like you would select a direction at a fork in the road.

You often wonder where the other track might lead.

Who knows?

But once you make your choice you have to stick with it until the next junction at least.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both and be one traveller.

Long I stood and looked down one as far as I could to where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other as far as fair and having perhaps the better clang because it was grassy and wanted wear.

Though as for that the passing there had worn them really about the same.

And had both that morning equally lay in leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh I kept the first for another day.

Yet knowing how way leads on to way I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence.

Two roads diverged in a wood and I,

I took the one less travelled by and that has made all the difference.

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost We can look back on the junctions we have encountered along the way.

The direction decided upon.

Maybe we did right,

Maybe wrong,

Who knows.

But here we are and we give thanks for all that has come to us on this particular route.

Sometimes we fall ill and we think we might have to leave the train and go to hospital but we recover.

All is well and that's a relief.

Some days we turn around to speak to someone and we notice them missing.

We try to remember where did we last see that person,

Where did they get off?

And we think why didn't I pay more attention when they were in the carriage with me?

We didn't even get to say goodbye.

We think if only.

If only we had made it our business to say how good it was to have been on the train with you.

We realise we are busy thinking of our own plans.

Daydreaming about our future,

Worrying ourselves about the past.

Our next pause is to think of people,

Friends and relatives who left us unexpectedly.

If only we had paid more attention when we had them with us.

But there is little point in regret.

The only value in regret is that it teaches us a useful lesson.

That any regret be an encouragement to us to watch out for the people who are sharing the journey with us right now.

We pause now to reflect on how we might better watch out for the people in our lives.

Welcome back.

Then one day out of the blue there is a beep in our pocket.

We reach in and we find our ticket.

We notice that it is blinking red.

The next station is where we have to get off.

We have completely forgotten that we even had a ticket.

Forgotten that we might have to get off this train before the last stop.

We were so caught up in the journey.

And the journey has passed so quickly.

All of a sudden we realise our train journey is over.

There might or might not be time for even a quick goodbye to the people around us.

Hardly time to pack our things.

We had become so comfortable on this train.

Oblivious of the passing time.

We never thought of our destination.

It just slipped our minds.

So quickly we get ourselves ready to jump off just as our ticket expires.

It's night time outside.

We can't make out the station name.

We can't make out the outline of anyone who might be waiting to meet us there.

The train stops.

It's time to get off.

Nervously we step down and onto the platform.

The message of this meditation today is that our lives are like a train journey.

We get on.

We meet our family.

We have no thought as to the destination.

It's a miracle that we're on this train at all.

People come and go as the train moves from station to station.

Do we pay enough attention to them while they are in the carriage with us?

Or do we take their presence for granted?

The journey can be long.

It can be short.

We don't know when our ticket will expire.

The question is how can we make good use of this journey?

The message of today's meditation is to notice and be thankful for the people and the places we see on this journey of life.

The people we meet.

The people getting on,

Staying for a while,

Then leaving.

Other people staying on after we get off.

We have to remember every day that this journey is a gift.

Who could have imagined the train and us on it?

And we did absolutely nothing to earn the ticket.

Yet here we are.

Very strange and wonderful,

This existence of ours.

Mary Oliver in our poem The Summer Day puts a question to us.

Tell me,

What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

The Dalai Lama offers us this advice in relation to life's journey.

He says we are visitors on this planet.

We are here for 100 years at the very most.

During that period we must try to do something good,

Something useful with our lives.

If you contribute to other people's happiness you will find the true meaning of life.

Words of the Dalai Lama.

So the train has stopped to let us off.

What next we wonder?

That is a question that has intrigued and fascinated people since the dawn of human intelligence.

We remember the fear we felt as we left the warm waters of the womb.

We remember the growing spot of light that led us into this wonderful existence.

So what next we wonder?

Is this it?

Was that it?

Is there more?

If as the Dalai Lama has said,

We contribute to other people's happiness,

We will find the true meaning of life.

If we do our best to do that,

We need have no fear of what the future may hold.

We can face the future with curiosity like the late Mary Oliver as she puts it in her poem When Death Comes.

When death comes like the hungry bear in autumn.

When death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse to buy me and snaps the purse shut.

When death comes like the measlepox.

When death comes like an iceberg between the shoulder blades.

I want to step through the door full of curiosity,

Wondering what is it going to be like,

That cottage of darkness.

And therefore I look upon everything as a brotherhood and a sisterhood.

And I look upon time as no more than an idea.

And I consider eternity as another possibility.

And I think of each life as a flower,

As common as a field daisy and as singer.

And each name a comfortable music in the mouth,

Tending,

As all music does,

Toward silence.

And each body a line of courage and something precious to the earth.

When it's over I want to say,

All my life I was a bride married to amazement.

I was the bridegroom taking the world into my arms.

When it's over I don't want to wonder if I've made of my life something particular and real.

I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened or full of argument.

I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.

Words of the late Mary Oliver.

So let's do the best while we can.

And doing our best we can believe that all will be well.

And that all will continue to be well.

As the old hymn says,

Through many dangers,

Toils and snares,

I have already come.

It is grace that brought me safe thus far,

And grace will lead me home.

So now let's bring ourselves back into the present moment.

Leaving the imaginary train.

Coming back into this present moment.

Bringing our attention back to the breath.

Noticing ourselves breathing in and out.

And placing our hands on our chest again.

Noticing that amazing reliable heartbeat keeping us here.

And giving thanks again for this amazing existence of ours.

And as we sit in that awareness,

A final prayer for today.

We are all passengers on this extraordinary train of life.

No matter how weak or how frightened we may feel.

We each have gifts that can make a difference in the world.

In this coming week,

May each of us do at least one thing to support someone who is sharing this journey with us.

Let us stay strong.

Let us stay connected.

Let each of us be an inspiration to the other.

And now to end our time together for today,

Once again.

The Divine in me bows to the Divine in you.

Namaste.

Reviews

! Beautiful meditation I enjoyed very much I will come & use this again thankyou.

Loved this meditation. I fell asleep before the end.

Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. Thank you. And namaste to you too.

Thank you, Tony! I little overwhelming, but all true.

That was excellent. ..It was not long before my Father passed , he talked about a train and needing to make sure he got on and of the correct station..🙏.

Thank you for this beautiful alliteration journey which is most relaxing and helpful to understanding the mysteries and changes we experience throughout this life.

Oh Tony, this was so very touching and beautiful. I had so much emotion going through me during this journey. You are by far the best teacher I have come across on insight timer. Thank you for being such a blessing in my life. I’m so touched by this message I can find a the words I looking for to say. Everyone should have a listen to this meditation. It’s by far your best. Thank you 🙏🏻💕💕

A journey of remembrance, gratitude, and ultimately, purpose. 🙏

Beyond wonderful, lovely imagery. Always a treat to hear your meditations.
Loved the train voyage!
Thank you so very much 💖💖💖

I love this one so much. Thank you for putting it back on it's my favorite. Have a happy holiday and thank you for your work.

This is phenomenal. Thank you for naming and describing so perfectly what I have been experiencing. This is the confirmation I needed!

Amazing journey indeed !
Thankyou 🙏

Beautiful 🙏

🕊Beautiful🕊 and Inspiring beyond words. Thank you! Namaste🙏🌟✨💫☯️

If I could give this more than 5 stars I would. Thank you Tony. I will listen to this often ❤️🙏🙏

Tony thank you for this wonderful meditation so reflective and powerful. A reminder of the same journey we all share. I love your meditations and this is one I will come back to again. 🙏

Tony: (Dear friend): I have listened to many of your recordings on Insight Timer and the sound of your voice never fails me. However, this one was exceptional and extraordinary. If there were an Oscar or Pulitzer Prize for meaningful and helpful meditations you just nailed it! Thank you so much for the effort that this amazing meditation clearly represents.
Respectfully and gratefully,
Neil 😀☯️☘️💚💚💚

Classic Tony at his finest - weaving together his classic mix of personal observations, storytelling, imagery, and relevant quotations from a wide swath of timeless thinkers, to share the gift of his wisdom and uplifting spirit of gratitude. Namaste Tony.

Tony, thanks for sharing that’s a beautiful reflection on the journey we are all on. Thanks for putting it into such a lovely story. Blessings to you in Dublin. Namaste 🙏

Inspiring and motivating. Thank you Tony.