The Double Tracks of Life
By Jay de Leon

I was just reading an interview with Rick Warren, a very famous author who has just written a best-seller, “A Purpose Driven Life.”

Just from the interview, I could see why his book is a best seller.  From what I could glean from the interview, it is not because he has new revelations, fresh advice or life secrets to reveal.  It is just when you think you have it all figured out, he has a different way of looking at it, as well as a clever way of expressing it. 

For example, I used to say or write, there is no dress rehearsal for life.  I thought that was a profound thought.  You have only one life to live, so start living it and make the most out of it.  You do not have time to rehearse, and worse, you do not get a second take at it.

But Rick Warren looks at it differently.  He says life is just a dress rehearsal for eternity.  You have about sixty or even a hundred years of human life, and trillions of years to spend in eternity.  If you look at it that way, your whole perspective on life, your finite human life on earth, changes.

I also have a saying that fortifies me.  The saying goes, this too shall pass.  It refers to good times, and the bad patches of life.  Enjoy the good times because they will not last, and tough out the bad times because they will not last either.  Many people refer to this as the ups and downs of life.

The visual that Rick Warren presents is slightly different.  He looks at it as riding a railroad track, with one track the good times and the other track the bad times.  There will always be good times and bad times in your life, mostly going on at the same time.

Rick Warren knows what he is talking about, big-time.  Last year, his book became a best seller and he sold fifteen million copies, and he will never have to worry financially.  He also found out his wife had cancer, and no money or even prayer could save her.

I like that visual he presents about the double tracks of the railroad.  The reality probably is that, even though they may be parallel, they are not even.  One is probably bumpier and nastier than the other one, and you will be buffeted and hammered during most of the ride.

Enjoy the ride.  It is just a dress rehearsal for hopefully a much smoother ride in eternity.