subject: Can You Land That Airplane? [print this page] Can You Land That Airplane? Can You Land That Airplane?
"It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end." -Ursula K. LeGuinHave you ever been in a situation where you are listening to a person who is telling a story that you think is never going to end? I had a couple of friends over one night and my friend Beth was going on and on non-stop, with no end in sight, when my other friend Paul spoke up and said, "It's time to bring this plane in for a landing!"Of course we all laughed because not only did he save us; we all felt relief, but he has such a way with words. What is the story that you can't seem to stop telling? The one that comes up time and time again about how your life is what it is and why you can't seem to have what you want? You know which one I mean.It's the story you tell with perfect recollection of all of the betrayals, your failures, why you are who you are because of what other people said or did to you and how if only things had been different so would your life be different? It's the same old story that has no ending; it just goes on and on as long as you are living. We've all had our disappointments in life but if you hold onto them and you relive the tragic details over and over, how are you ever going to get to a new destination? Maybe it's time to bring this airplane in for a landing and get off this flight. Maybe it's time to bring it to a close so you can be open to all of the missed opportunities that are passing you by because you're up in the air and so caught up in the past.If you are walking around this planet telling "your story" to anyone who will listen and the story never changes, has it ever occurred to you that this story is getting old? Do you think it's time to get a new story? Or are you so tied into the past and the why's and what if's, that you are going to stay on this flight to nowhere forever?It's time to decide if you want to look forward instead of behind you, if you want to live for today instead of yesterday and if you'd rather tell a story that someone actually wants to hear. It's time to bring this airplane in for a landing, leave your baggage at the baggage claim area and start a brand new journey. You are the only one who can decide where you are going to go in life. If you like where your travels are leading you then enjoy the trip but if you're not, then isn't it time to plan out the trip of a lifetime? One that will be filled with fun, gratitude, happiness and one that when you come to the end of your journey you will be glad you took. Don't stay stuck on a path where you are walking in circles reliving all of your regrets and rehashing the past with anyone who will listen. Start a new chapter in your life and leave the past behind. Begin to build on your future with a new story of how you changed your life from the way you used to be to who you are today; then you will really be flying high!
