Re: Leaving the City of Regret LONG and Off Topic

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the great email . I have one for everyone two. My mom

gave me this tonight. It's a long one, but I liked it. Hope you will,

too.

LEAVING THE CITY OF REGRET

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 an 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.

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 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 off 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.

I don't know about you guys but I have attended many of these parties,

myself! Hope you enjoyed reading this.

=====

from Upper Darby, PA

BMI 63, age 41

Lap BPD/DS (possibly in 2 parts)

Dr. Gagner - 9/15/01

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