Oh the Places You'll Go

Isn't it lovely to be reminded of our biggest failures? Ok, perhaps not. The other day, however, I came face to face with a rather spectacular fiasco of my own, and found that I was actually happy for the experience.

I went to the place where I once thought that all of my dreams would come true. In fact, this often dreamt of place was considered to be the only location that could produce my perfect life. (Yes, I know, I put all of my eggs in one basket.) This fantasy of mine was nurtured from the time that I was very young; when I finally was able to embark upon what was sure to be the finest achievement of my life, I thought I had it made.

Reality often strikes such hopeful dreamers as harsh. As my dreams quickly turned to nightmares, I realized that the "perfect life" I wanted wasn't going to come neatly wrapped in the package I thought it would. And in truth, those prized dreams of mine weren't what I even wanted anymore.

Then all of the sudden I had such an exciting opportunity: being free from old expectations I could do whatever I wanted! So I did. And I found, and am still finding, new dreams. I'm still working on that perfect life, but I know it will happen as I make the most of each new possibility and overcome each setback in turn.

So when it came time to return to this magical place where my dreams didn't come true, I did so feeling like I had triumphed over the loss of those old fantasies.

What an achievement indeed.