The Road Not Taken – Robert Frost

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.

I discovered the very famous poem, The Road not Taken, by Robert Frost, in my early 20s. Even then, I somehow knew I would be traveling my life on the road not taken, or to be more accurate, the road less taken. I was captivated by the mystery and adventure of it all, and I will agree with Mr. Frost, it has made all the difference. However, occasionally, that difference can sting.

 As my children were growing up, I had a saying, “Treat meanness with kindness.” They heard this many, many times. If I leave nothing else behind for my children, I pray they will always remember that statement. I believe to make a difference, you have to be different. I’m hoping my kindness to those around me has somehow made a difference. But sometimes, in this very hurtful world we live in, it can be difficult.

I had an opportunity this week to show kindness in a situation where it was extremely difficult. I’m going to be perfectly honest. I simply did not want to be kind. I absolutely did not feel like walking the talk. And sadly, my feeling that way sort of broke my heart. I was disappointed with myself. That’s not at all like me, but I guess it makes me human.

This week the climb to the high road seemed very difficult. I was exhausted, not by the climb, but by how many times I’ve had to make it. I was almost willing to travel the superhighway, as the road less traveled seemed too lonely. Just this once I wanted to hurt someone because they had hurt me. I could have easily opted out of the kindness club, and no one would have blamed me. But in the end, I knew it wouldn’t make me feel better, quite the opposite.

I slowly crawled back to the high road, just in nick of time.

My lesson learned is this. We can, at any time, choose the road less traveled. It is exactly that. It is a choice. We can choose to be spiteful and hurtful when others hurt us, or we can choose to treat others the way we would like to be treated, regardless of how they treat us. We can choose to serve when we are not served, and we can choose to give when we do not receive. It can be hard, but we can choose to love others when we are not feeling loved.

But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Matthew 7:14

Wishing you joy and peace,

 Lorrie