The Fork in the Road

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."  Robert Frost

There is a rumor that somewhere on my maternal grandmother's side we are related to Robert Frost.  I do not know much about him, but I do know this quote from him has always stuck with me.  Lately, it has meant even more.

It is a powerful image, standing at a fork in the road.  We do it daily in small ways, occasionally in big ones, but it is essential to our lives.  Will we go right or left?  Will we be taking the high road or the low one?  Will we be walking an easy path or a difficult one?  How will we know which road is the right one?

It has taken time to trust that there is no right or wrong path, just a path.  In the end we will get to the final destination, time being the only thing that separates us from being there.  One path may take longer, one may bring more sorrow or joy, but in the end we will always find our way home.   There is comfort with that thought.

And then there are times when we know we will be choosing the path that will have more hills in which we will climb, more challenges we will have to face, but ultimately more rewards when we look back to where we came from and what we accomplished along the way.  Easier is not always better.

Faith is rarely built on a path with little resistance.  Courage is rarely found on a path with no turns in the road.  Self-worth is rarely achieved on a road with no challenges to overcome.

It can be hard to choose one path over another.  Often it requires saying good-bye to one who has walked with us.  At other times it asks us to lay down our belongings because their weight prevents us from the rocks in front of us we need to climb.  And sometimes it it lonely walking a path no one can see in front of us, but ourselves.

The world in front of us as we know it is diverging into two paths.  It will be up to each of us to choose which path we now want to walk on.  The majority will choose the path that is familiar and well traveled.  They will laugh at us who decline to go in that direction.  They will warn us, try and convince us to come with them, and they will fear for our choice to walk into the unknown with little but that which we can carry in our hands.

They won't understand why we are choosing or that we came here for this moment and this choice.  It is by our choosing to walk the path they cannot yet see, that we are making it well traveled so that someday they will be able to see it and choose it for themselves.

Saying good-bye is hard, but creating a new world where loss no longer lives is important.  It is the greater gift to give.  To all those who are choosing the path less traveled, I offer my appreciation and gratitude to you - for your courage, your faith, and the love it takes to own them.

jill
jillelizabeth.net