Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
- Robert Frost
This post is in response to a good friend’s blog. As with the poet, and frankly us all, she dwells on past decisions, on possible alternative lifelines, in other words, “what if”. She has a vast worldly soul, not easy to fill. In her case, she choose the path more traveled, that of a married life, with children and “stability” of a home and family. I also chose this well known path, but like her I have always wanted, no, needed, to experience the world and everything it has to offer. To travel to other countries, with their alien languages and cultures. To meet people with different world views. To experience everything! Part of these urges come from the desire to know and learn what the world has to offer. I felt that only through this would I be able to understand how to “fix” the world. It does not help that I have had this messiah complex since I was a child. My friend looks upon her situation in terms of sacrifice, benefits of one over the other. She accepts her current position because the loss of what she has, would surpass what she could gain, as far as she knows. And perhaps she is right. The uncertainty of a wild soul, a traveler’s life is both exciting and fearful. People do not want to be afraid of what will happen tomorrow, compliancy is comfortable, safe. Personally, it is one of the only things that creates doubt and wonder in me. I know that I could survive anything down either of these two paths, and both could bring me happiness. I accept the decisions I have made in life, without remorse. However, the gift of imagination often puts me in a wanderlust that aches from possibilities. What is right or wrong? Which path do you choose? And once on that path, are their any trails to the other? Can the two paths be merged successfully?
Should we accept out lot in life peacefully? I have always been torn on most issues, able to see and accept the possibilities of both paths, so it is a difficult question for me to answer. We can not be all things, no matter how my spirit desires it. So perhaps acceptance is best? And in the mean time, I will use writing and wild thoughts, trickery to subdue a turbulent soul.
Tags: to-be-filed by Monkey King
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