Thanx - Elaineinpa for this tag
I had
not really planned on taking a trip this time of year, and yet I found
myself packing rather hurriedly. This trip was going to be unpleasant and
I knew in advance that no real good would come of it. I'm talking about
my annual "Guilt Trip."
I got
tickets to fly there on Wish I Had
airlines. It was an extremely short flight. I got my baggage, which I could
not check. I chose to carry it myself all the way. It was weighted down
with a thousand memories of what might have been. No one greeted me as
I entered the terminal to the Regret City
International Airport. I say international
because people from all over the world come to this dismal town.
As I
checked into the Last Resort Hotel,
I noticed that they would be hosting the year's most important event, the
Annual Pity Party.
I wasn't going to miss that great social occasion. Many of the towns leading
citizens would be there.
First,
there would be the Done
family, you know, Should Have,
Would Have and
Could Have. Then
came the I Had
family. You probably know ol' Wish
and his clan. Of course, the Opportunities
would be present, Missed
and Lost. The
biggest family would be the Yesterday's.
There are far too many of them to count, but each one would have a very
sad story to share.
Then
Shattered Dreams
would surely make and appearance. And It's Their
Fault would regale us with stories (excuses)
about how things had failed in his life, and each story would be loudly
applauded by Don't Blame Me and
I Couldn't Help It.
Well,
to make a long story short, I went to this depressing party knowing that
there would be no real benefit in doing so. And, as usual, I became very
depressed. But as I thought about all of the stories of failures brought
back from the past, it occurred to me that all of this trip and subsequent
"pity party"
could be cancelled by ME!
I started to truly realize that I did not have to be there. I didn't have
to be depressed. One thing kept going through my mind, I
CAN'T CHANGE YESTERDAY, BUT I DO HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE TODAY A WONDERFUL
DAY. I can be happy, joyous, fulfilled, encouraged,
as well as encouraging. Knowing this, I left the City
of Regret immediately and left no forwarding
address. Am I sorry for mistakes I've made in the past? YES!
But there is no physical way to undo them.
So,
if you're planning a trip back to the City
of Regret, please cancel all your reservations
now. Instead, take a trip to a place called, Starting
Again. I liked it so much that I have now
taken up permanent residence there. My neighbors, the I
Forgive Myselfs and the New
Starts are so very helpful. By the way, you
don't have to carry around heavy baggage, because the load is lifted from
your shoulders upon arrival. God bless you
in finding this great town. If you can find it -- it's
in your own heart -- please look me up. I
live on >I Can Do It street.
Thanx - ARK AMBER for Tag
Author ~ Larry Harp