“Simple it’s not,
I’m afraid you will find,
for a mind maker-upper to make up his mind ”
I’ve mentioned before that I spend the last quarter of the year reviewing the previous year and projecting my plans for the next year. With 2020 fast approaching I have also decided to look at my ten year goals and desires as well. I do believe in living in the present moment so it may seem odd to look not only one year into the future but ten years into the future. The fact is I believe you should live in the present with a toe in the future. None of us can predict what will happen or where one road will lead but we can envision the future and revise as needed and necessary. One of my favorite poets is Robert Frost. In his poem “The Road Not Taken” he says…
“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.
”
In third paragraph he says “Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way. I doubted if I should ever come back.” It rings true to me that we often think. we will double back and try the other road, yet most often we stay on the road we chose following along its routes and making side journeys along the way. I picture in my mind the book by Dr. Suess “Oh, The Place You’ll Go!” The illustrations in the book show roads of different colors and shapes going every direction. It is difficult to think about back tracking because we’ve already made our commitments and we don’t want to lose time and effort. Yet, when we read the last paragraph of “The Road Not Taken” “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” we are reminded that quite frankly, it doesn’t matter which road that we take. Just that we take a road, follow a direction, find our footing and in the immortal words of Dr. Suess “never mix up your right foot with your left” Life doesn’t need to be lived on the less traveled for everyone and doesn’t need to be mapped out. However, picking a direction and setting a course can be exciting, enlightening and engaging. By making a decision to move forward in any direction we are moving forward and not standing still waiting…waiting…waiting…waiting.. Waiting for changes we are not willing to make ourselves. Hopeful that somehow life will suddenly change and as a result we will be changed. But isn’t real living forward momentum, setting a course into the unknown, facing our fears and as a result growing in every way possible. As you set your eyes on the new year and the new decade what do you see ahead of you? Do you want to be standing still or are you willing to take the first step? Do you see the road less traveled as slightly scary or maybe very scary? Is it the place your want to go or are you interested in the road that is comfortable, safe and familiar? There’s nothing wrong with comfortable, safe and familiar. But the balancing act in that place is still moving forward when you are comfortable. What can you do to grow in that place? Oddly enough sometimes the first step is staying the course you’ve already chartered and allowing yourself to face the things you fear most and would like to run away from and other times it’s recognizing it’s time to say goodbye to the old course and find a new path. No matter what you choose to do, the question is, are you ready to take a step and more importantly will it make all the difference?
Wishing you Grace, Peace and Healthy Living - A Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and a life filled with Daring Greatly!
Lorraine
“remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act.”
