Traveling Through

“Two roads diverged in the woods and I – I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” ~Robert Frost

This is one of my favorite lines, from one of my favorite poets, Robert Frost, in his poem titled The Road Not Taken. I often think of these words as I make choices, large or small, in my daily walk through life. As well, I wonder what “difference” did the road “less traveled” make in the author’s mind and life? In other words, what did Robert Frost mean with this concluding line of his poem? Was the difference favorable, or did it lead to trouble, regret, and ultimately destruction? After all, the poem was titled The Road Not Taken, not the road that I took.

With all this put aside, in my own mind and life, I believe that the “less traveled” road has paid off for me. Perhaps it is my lack of desire to follow others, or my stubborn rebellion (not wanting to be told what to do) that “has made all the difference.” I really am not sure. I just know that, like the old saying goes, walking to my own drum beat has really taken me to a place in life where I feel content, grounded, and whole. I think about all the other directions that my life could have gone, all the other paths I could have taken, and I cannot fathom where those roads would have taken me. Or even if those roads could have taken me to a better place than where I am right now. Perchance it is not the road, at all, but it is the perception that we acquire as we travel through.  

Today is a wonderful day to take a step back and catch a glimpse of what it is that we are seeing when we look at our own lives. Perhaps if we do, we may see that this path that we have taken was laid out before us all along.