The Road Less Taken
Perhaps you are familiar with Robert Frost’s thought-provoking poem, "The Road Not Taken." Well, I couldn’t help but think of the poet’s words while hiking in the mountains of Idaho. Hiking requires answers to a constant series of questions; which direction should I take? Where does this trail lead? Would a less trodden path be more adventurous, or ultimately disappointing, or dangerous even? We often see signs directing us to this summit or this waterfall or sometimes we see no signs at all. But time is limited, the sun will eventually render the excursion too dark to continue and so we must make a choice. On this particular hike, the path divided, as is the norm, and I chose the path shown in the photograph. The view I saw was the result of my decision.
Proud as I was to have made my resolve rather swiftly, and determined not to ponder where the other trail led, I picked up my pace excited to see where my chosen path would lead me. But then I recalled the words of another prolific writer, Robert Brault who wrote, "I regret less the road not taken than my all-fired hurry along the road I took." I slowed my gait and made every step I took a deliberate one.
When presented with different options, how do we make choices? And how do we surrender to feelings of gratitude for all we have gained by our decision without ruminating about all we imagine to have lost?
