And here we are

I don't think it's any great exaggeration to say that I obsess over the past as much as anyone out there, for better or worse. Sometimes I look back and laugh; mostly I look back and simply shake my head. And sometimes, I look back and it's all I can do not to weep. For myself, for the people and places around me, and most of all, for the things I know now that I didn't know then.

Oh please, someone-- anyone, everyone-- forgive me for the things I did not know. Look how smart we thought we were. Look at what we did because we thought we were right. The mistakes, the mistakes and the regrets.

But all the regrets in the world are not worth a damn to anyone.

I told someone once that, much as we pretend otherwise, we can never really hope to understand anyone else, because to our dying day, not a one of us will ever truly understand ourselves. The greatest mystery of them all is the self, and we never get to find the solution. We think we're so smart, but our biggest surprises always come from inside, not out.

I could never have dreamed the twists and turns that would bring me to this time and this place.

And I guess that's what makes the trip so much fun.