When you set the ultimate goals and plans for your life, it's like planning a fabulous trip to Italy.
You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum, the Michelangeo David. It's all very excititng.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?" you say. "What do you mean Holland? I signed up and planned my whole life for Italy. I'm suppose to be in Italy! All my life I've dreamt of going to Italy!"
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and you must stay.
The important thing is they haven't taken you to a horrible place. It's just a different place. So you must go out and buy new guidebooks. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you may have never met.
It's just a different place. It's slower paced then Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while, and you catch your breath, you look around and begin to notice that Holland has windmills, Holland has tulips, Holland even has Rembrandt.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy. And they're bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life you will say, "Yes, that's where I was suppose to go. That's what I had planned."
The pain of that will never, never, go away, because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss. But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland. Author Unknown
The image is mine, taken on April 26, 2011 in Longwood Gardens. It was a beautiful day!!
24 comments:
Are you OK???
i read this, thinking you had written this about your own life. then i saw the 'author unknown'. a very valuable lesson to go along with your beautiful photo. but, yes, i know a lot of folks will be concerned about you. :)
a big hug from texas to my friend in nj.
My roots on my grandfathers side are traced back to the early 1600s in the Netherlands. The picture is beautiful!
"i am in holland" if you know what i mean. holland was not the plan, but i try to enjoy every single second.
A good reminder to "bloom where we are planted"! Pretty picture!
Debbie, welcome warmly.
Lovely picture.
I've been three times in the Netherlands Keukenhof Gardens.
It is beautiful. It should be seen.
Łucja-Maria
Lovely photos. Profound thoughts. While you have been living in Holland, you have made lots and lots of friends and touched many lives, like mine. I know it would be nice to visit Italy. Your trip ended up different. I think for me, this has been the story of my life, wanting something but getting something entirely different.
As with every thing we learn at this age, the joy comes in the journey.
We have the privilege of taking the bowl of lemons, and making them into a wonderful dessert.
You are just like that, you choose to make my life happier by the beauty you see all around you.
I hope you are okay, I will be praying for you.
There is a lot of truth to that wee story. Very thought provoking!!!
I did wonder what you were writing about and then I understood.
I LOVE your picture - so colourful.
Enjoy your Holland :))
A good lesson for us to remember and I agree with Debbie on the "bloom where we are planted" philosophy.
Holland was my maiden name! I love love love those flowers. sandie
Hi Debbie...You had me going there for a bit ...I was thinking what kind of a airlines makes a mistake like that LOL
I like Teresa saw the author unknown, haha !!
Your picture is just a beauty, and I like the concept to the story ...how true is that !!
I liked reading every comment...good ones!!
Grace
Lovely flowers Debbie. I end up in "Holland" a lot, and make the best of it!
Beautiful picture. I have read this before,but it is good to read it again. I certainly understand the feeling of not being where I wanted to be,but life is still good and there is so much beauty everywhere.
Thanks Debbie.
Dearest Debbie, I love the picture, it is beautiful. Holland is exactly why I hate plans. Life's flight plan is usually not what the travel agent promised, but there is always something wonderful to explore even if we are forced to sit quietly and observe. Hugs to you my dear friend. Bonnie
You're a very wise woman Debbie and thank you for sharing these thoughts about the vagaries of life by Author Unknown.
May your week be as happy and bright as that beautiful photograph.
Kindest thoughts, Susan xx
Great picture.
www.modernworld4.blogspot.com
The first thing I thought you really were in Holland. You should have told me I would show you a round. But you were not. I wish you all the best.
Big hugs from Holland
marijke
I have no freakin' clue where you are, but the flowers are gorgeous! :-)
Debbie,
I have really been to Italy and have really lived in Holland. While they are in fact two very different places and both beautiful in different ways, it really doesn't matter where you "are". As long as you're surrounded in love and take time to smell the flowers. Which you are and do.
Here comes a big hug from Norway... Can you feel it?
xxoo Maggie
Holy Moly! I really liked that. It was interesting. I liked how it looked at both sides of not going where you wanted, but enjoying where you have been. Thanks for the thought provoking post.
Hahaha!! There is NOTHING wrong with HOLLAND!!!!
Haha.... well... except we lost with soccer!
Big hugs
Leontien
Thanks for a lovely post! The analogy was wonderful. We do need to enjoy our journey more. I loved the picture and I too hope to see Italy; but I would love to go to Holland too. However, I think I must just enjoy where I am.
Blessings on this one and thanks for your comments on my posts.
I want to be a dolphin trainer, but I'm allergic to sea food and I don't like handling dead fish to feed the dolphins. So plan "A" turned to plan "AA" visit Sea World and pet the dolphins while someone else feeds them. Plan "AB" is take pictures of them and meet lots of people that want to be doing the same thing and enjoy every second of it.
Beautiful springtime image -- and I love the story. So very true!
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