It started off as just a pristine black and white photocopy, but over time it has slowly become a faded yellow piece of paper. It isn’t very big, with just a few words printed on it. This piece of paper has occupied a place on my refrigerator for many years now. It has been with me on my journey from Brockville to Austin.
On it are the words to a wonderful piece of writing by none other than Robert Frost. It is entitled “The Road Not Taken”.
It is a constant reminder of what happens when we make that first step forward and dare to do so. It could be in life, in love, in the pursuit of happiness, in growth, in self discovery.
I remember reading it not long after graduating from university. For me, it was symbolic of the journey we all face.
Ah the journey.
That would be the journey that seems to be making an appearance in my writing lately. Being on the road, or standing at a crossroads. It could be Robert Frost, or Robert Johnson.
”Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both … “
The crossroads. A decision must be made. Where do I go from here?
What happens when you stand there are the crossroads, and ponder and reflect on the two pathways, and choose to do nothing? Or what happens when you take the well-worn path, knowing exactly where it will lead?
”Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back … “
You can always re-visit the other path. But once you make that choice to move forward, it is hard to go back from whence you came. Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, “A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimension”. I couldn’t agree with him more.
The piece of Frost’s poem that really rings true for me is the ending …
”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’ll be the first to admit that I have taken some rather uncommon paths – many roads not taken – on my journey. Some of them have lead to chasing rabbit holes, many have lead to amazing life experiences. But they have all contributed to an incredibly vivid journey of learning and growth of which I am forever grateful.
With risk, lies reward.
Venture forth on the road not taken. You might be surprised at what you find – and what you learn about yourself in the process.
Photo credits: Paul Badger
"Running Injuries: Etiology And Recovery- Based Treatment" (co-author Bridget Clark, PT) appears in the recently released third edition of "
" by S. Brent Brotzman, MD and Robert C. Manske, PT.
