Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost
Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken" has been a favorite since I learned it in junior high. I suppose it's taught to you at that level to get you to think about choices that are made, and considering the paths from which one must choose.
I've always been enticed by "the road less traveled". I suppose that ties into my love of small roads in the middle of nowhere or the small restaurant. I'm not usually one that's enticed by shiny objects. Give me the tried and true, or even better, the different or unusual. In minor baseball, while there is the thrill of watching the next superstar develop. However, give me the catcher, who grinds every day for the hopes of a sniff at the big leagues. From my days in classical music, I always enjoyed the strange sounding compositions. I still do.
Frost's poem came to mind this afternoon in the midst of a frustrating sequence of events - one of my own making, another of someone else's making. A vehicle issue cost me 5 hours of time, and then after I absorbed that event, I ran over my own laptop bag, with the laptop in it. (Yeah, I think I hurt it pretty bad)
As I drove along Tuesday evening, I thought about that road less traveled, and how, for Frost, it made all the difference. However, he doesn't go into detail what that difference is. He leaves that up to the reader.
Was the difference about his own contentment in life, or about his own ability to handle the difficulties that occur? Whatever "the difference" was, Frost seemed content with it.
In choosing any sort of path, whether it's a road one travels on or a life choice, one is not guaranteed a smooth ride without mishaps.
Frost never mentioned whether or not he encountered any difficulties on that road less taken. Whether it was a stone on the way, or a thunderstorm, a snake, or anything else other than "it was grassy and wanted wear"
Considering this, I was reminded of the line Jesus used from The Sermon on the Mount, "God sends the rain upon the just and the unjust." I have to remind myself that even on bad days, I continue to be shaped by them in order to be the best God-created person I can be.
Some days, it just doesn't work out. However, it doesn't mean the road I took was the wrong path. So I'll get up tomorrow morning, get dressed, and head out with the expectation that the adventure that lies ahead will make a difference for me - whether it is in sunshine or rain.