A while back, I used to have this running joke going with my friends. At the end of certain things, I had a little catch-phrase. I would always say, “But I’m so not bitter. Another variation was, “The important thing is that I’m not bitter.” The joke was that they all knew that I was completely bitter.

But all joking aside, there came a point when I realized that my bitterness had gone a little too far.

This happened one evening when I realized I was bitter against the sun.

Imagine stopping this article now and polling 100 people about why someone might feel bitter towards the sun. Around 99% of the people surveyed would answer, “Skin cancer.” I am ashamed to say that my bitterness against the sun wasn’t that simple or reasonable.

One evening in 2006, I was walking along a beautiful stretch of beach in Okinawa. I was walking along my favourite spot in Okinawa in idyllic conditions and the sun was just setting. It was around 6:00 P.M.

As I looked at the sun, it occurred to me that in Canada it was about 4 a.m., that Canadians were still in bed sleeping and that if someone in Canada woke up right now it would be pitch dark. In about 2 hours though, if the same person got up at 6 a and looked outside they would see the sun. In about 2 hours in Okinawa, night would be falling, and the sun would be gone over to Canada.

All of a sudden it occurred to me, “If the Sun can get over to Canada in 2 hours, why does it take me 24 hours to get from Okinawa to Canada? How come I have to struggle with heavy luggage, go through customs, eat bad airplane food, people making me take my shoes off for security reasons before finally having to pay some overpriced taxi driver to get me home when the sun can just roll over and be in Canada in 2 hours?”

Oh, and by the way, “Not that I’m bitter or anything” but the last trip from Canada to Okinawa took 44 hours. I’m not making this up. There was a flight delay at La Guardia in New York, and this is the explanation I was given. I promise you I am not making this up: “The Pilot is coming in from New Jersey. He’s a little new and having trouble finding the airport!”

To which my natural response was, “If he can’t find the airport, how’s he going to find Japan?” This flight delay in New York resulted in me missing my connecting flight at Tokyo Narita. This, of course, made me late for my flight to Naha. In the end, I got to Naha so late that I had to overnight in Naha. When I finally reached my house in the Northern part of Okinawa, it was 44 hours from the time I had left Canada.

But I digress.

The point that I wanted to make was that I did not take the news that the sun could do the same trip in two hours very well.

When my bitterness problem moved over to celestial beings, I realized I'd gone too far.

I thought about it for a minute, and this is how I finally got over my bitterness.

I gave it some thought.

Carol: OK. Give me a second to ponder why the sun deserves these unique travel benefits.

The voice of reason: Sustaining all life on planet earth.

Carol: OK, fine.

After reasoning it out like that, it was pretty easy to calm down. My bitterness against the sun has not returned to this day.

If you are out there, struggling with bitterness, let me tell you, it is possible to let go of these things. I’ve moved on and you can too.

There is nothing really worth hanging on to and there’s one thing I want you to remember.

Even though I hate going through customs and long lines as much as you, I am so not bitter.

This article was originally published on Oct 11, 2009.