What is Your Station in Life?

I saw him in the park on my morning walk.

There was something about him that I recognised.

But I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

Then it dawned on me. He walked just like my father.

This old man, with a slightly uneven gait but broad shoulders; strong enough no doubt to bear the weight of his family’s trials and tribulations.

A wise man. An old soldier, a father, a son, a brother, a husband. And a grandfather.

But it wasn’t him.

I felt a pang of sadness.

I remember he used to say to me “Eleanor, we all come to our station in life.”

At the time I thought it was a slightly defeatist attitude for a man with a big family, a nice home and his own business.

It wasn’t until many years after his death that I realised the wisdom of his words.

It was nothing to do with the pecking order, social standing or settling for your ‘lot in life’.

It was about becoming all that you can be – fulfilling your personal destiny.

I am still on my life journey with lots of lessons to learn, and I suspect my ‘station’ is still some way off.

On a lighter note, he also warned me that “Bullsh*t baffles brains”, i.e. don’t believe everything clever you hear.

He was right about that too.

What wise advice has someone ever given you that you didn’t fully appreciate until much later?