The Vacation

This happens every time without warning. I find myself taking a much unwanted vacation. I had not planned on taking a trip, and yet here I am packing rather hurriedly. I knew for a fact this trip was going to be unpleasant and I knew in advance that no real good would come of it, but here we go again, this is my annual “Guilt Trip.”

I got myself some nice first class tickets to fly to "Regret" City on “Wish-I-Had” airlines. It was an extremely short flight as wishes tend to fade quickly. When we landed I got my personal "baggage" from the overhead which I could not check. I had to carry it myself on my shoulders all the way and for the entire trip. It was loaded with a thousand memories of “what might have been and what could have been.” No one, not a single person greeted me as I entered Regret City and as I checked into the “Last Resort” Hotel, I noticed that they would be hosting the year’s most important event for their small miserable town — the annual “Pity Party.” I definitely could not miss that great social occasion. Full of hateful people that can put you down like no other. First, there would be the “Done” family; you know, “Should Have Done,” “Would Have Done” and “Could Have Done.” Then came the “I Had” family. You probably know “Wish I Hads” and his clan. Of course, the “Opportunities” family; “Missed and Lost,” would be present, they would never miss one of these grand events, but the biggest family there by far is always the “Yesterday’s.” There are far too many of them to count and they love to linger around, each and every one of them would have a very sad story to share. As if all of them wasn't enough to deal with of course, “Shattered Dreams” would surely make and appearance and “It’s Their Fault” family would amuse us with stories, or more like excuses, about how things had failed in their life. Each story would be loudly applauded by the “Don’t Blame Me” and “I Couldn’t Help It” committee as if it was something to be joyous about.

Anyways, to make a long story short, I went to this depressing party, knowing full well there would be no real benefit in doing so, yet for some reason it never stops me and as usual, I became miserable, but as I thought about all of the stories of failures brought back from the past, it occurred to me that this trip and succeeding “pity parties” could be cancelled anytime by ME! I started to realize that I did not have to be there, I chose to go on these trips and as I sat their in my own guilt, one thing kept going through my mind, I can’t change yesterday, but i do have the power to make today better. I can be happy, joyous, fulfilled, encouraged, as well as encouraging.

It was with this realization, I left Regret City immediately, and didn’t leave a forwarding address. Am I sorry for mistakes I’ve made in the past? Of course! But there is no way to undo them. So, if you’re planning a trip back to Regret City, please cancel those reservations now. Instead, take a trip to a nice place called: “Starting Over.” You will enjoy it so much more I even made it my permanent residence. My neighbors, the “Been Forgiven” and the “We’re Saved” are so very helpful By the way, you don’t have to carry around the heavy baggage anymore either. That load is lifted from your shoulders upon arrival. But don’t take my word for it, find out for yourself visit Starting Over today!