“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood” begins Robert Frost’s well known poem, The Road Not Taken written in 1920. I stumbled upon a tree in a local park which reminded me of this verse and its meaning. Frost comments on the struggle we all have when it comes to choice or action in our lives. Do we ever really know what we truly want? Both “roads” may take one to the same place, but are we tempted to take the “easy” way to achieve our goals in life? Do we choose based on what others urge or have done before us? What about our own feelings, desires and drives? What holds us back from moving forward? Do we spend too long weighing the pros and cons prior to making a commitment to anything? Are we forever second guessing our final decision? Do we spend as much time after making up our mind as to whether or not we did the right thing? Are there regrets? There are those who spend endless amounts of time and energy reviewing, reflecting, comparing and contrasting only to decide on what their gut feeling told them right from the beginning. Heart and passion must have their place in driving the decision making process. Choices are always difficult but one thing is certain. The simplest or most logical option is not always the correct one. Our heads may try to tell us that the more secure plan is best. It may be the one with more guarantees, structure and stability, but it might not be the one that lights the fire of our soul. We really do not know how things will turn out no matter the direction we go, but one should at least try to go where the heart leads, where completeness and wholeness can be embraced and regrets do not exist. Will we make mistakes? Of course! Then, we are faced with yet more decisions needed to further us along. That is life! If we had a blueprint for everything in our personal story, we probably would never try to go beyond our perceived limitations. Nothing is more exciting than beating the obstacles and achieving something not thought possible. To paraphrase Robert Frost, when one takes the road less travelled, it often makes all the difference!
James(Jim)Dunn
Blessėd Blending
April 22, 2016