From a semi-dream last night… Might seem silly to some but…

A man on a locomotive that he built & borrowed, is shoveling coal into the engine as a handful of people are helping him… as long as he is focused on pushing coal.

And he looks like he is going to hit the stations heading to the destination, even if it is slower than most people are happy with…
..but he needed more help because he was “not in a good way” having ignored/traded some big self/personal for the trip, goal and work.

He doesn’t have time, or the opportunity to help anyone who says they’ll “get on the train, if you just…” because…well the train needs coal & maintenance ..& it takes massive work to restart a train, just so they “can help him shovel coal & get there.” (As he has stopped the train in the past to do so and learned not to.)

I say it often. He should know by now how counter-productive… if he has to lift a person on the train, yet he keeps getting distracted by trying to do that…
While many others on and off the train are just yelling that he’s not shoveling coal fast enough.

He will get there. Or at least his train will.

A few of whom actually risked & jumped on the train and shoveled coal with him and rarely left. Some who just got him a glass of water. One or two who put a single shovel of coal in, realized it was harder work and stopped. Some who just trashed him, because they really just wanted to own/run the train.

As they get close to the destination, the man, who is a shadow of what he was and most likely not going to get to enjoy the final destination by the time it pulls in, is becoming incredibly aware of who is doing which… And trying to find the grace to finish, reward & forgive before he can’t.