The Road Less Traveled…
One of my favorite poems is
The Road Less Traveled by 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
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference
I thought a great deal of this poem yesterday as Ian and I forged through the woods at Raven Run in Lexington, Kentucky. A walk….his gift to me. Our talk....our gift to one another.
Nature’s beauty….God’s gift to all who would stop and walk and see….
And, it is true….our life is testimony to our journey no matter how many days long or short it is. The path we chose “makes all the difference.” Some will take the path well-worn and easy to traverse. The path that most of mankind will take. And, some will take “the path less traveled by” which is hard to forage and leads to places unknown and unchartered. The path that we are taught to take as people of faith.
My children have been raised on the belief that the path we are to take is “the one less traveled by” because it is the one which God has laid down…..but, is that really the message of this poem? I don’t know….
I always assumed with my “religious” view that the one less taken meant the path to God…that only the few would find the path to heaven….less tattered and worn because man, in our humanity would refuse to take on such a challenge and would travel the simpler, more used path. The worldly walk.
As my life and this poem mature, I now believe that life is not just one path…one journey, but a series of walking and choosing….sometimes, the choice is ours to make outright but at times, the path is there without choice…it comes our way through God’s grace, through God’s teaching, through God’s providential mercy.
Sometimes, all we have it the choice to move forward, to stand still or to turn around and go back…
And, it is the choosing which “makes all the difference”.
I felt that yesterday….we choses the “red” path because it was the one which took us to the “prize”….the spectacular view of the Kentucky River from rock outlooks which challenged one’s bravery. This path was, I believe, one of the longest and most challenging….I, the new hiker, was anxious.
Just walking from the guest center to get to the path was a “hike”…..but, made simpler because of its concrete side walk…
I found that curious…a concrete path to get to a nature walk??
And, Ian explained that it was not a natural path and would have many traveling down the exact same steps thereby wearing out the path and aging it beyond use in a short time, thus the concrete. From the guest center to the actual path was an “open” natural walkway…one prepared by the state to give direction to the other paths from which a hiker could choose. I believe there were four in all….all of varying length and difficulty.
I thought….new hiker that I am….WHEN will we ever get to the real path??
It took a while…
But, arrive we did and Ian explained that the path we were choosing was one of the most difficult, but one of the most lovely….for, it held the view….
Red it was…and, on we walked….
Its opening was beautiful…all green and lush. Stone walls surrounded us and kept us safe from falling off the path. The walk way was wide and flat and easy to traverse. “I can do this”, I thought.
But, very quickly, this changed. The path began to have its challenges….decisions had to be made.Decisions which would mean the difference between getting to the view and then the end of the path or turning around and heading back to the safety of the guest center.
Things got in the way of our hike….
Doubt began to sink in…is traveling around all of the path’s obstacles worth the view we might see and worth the effort of the hike?
I have not hiked in many years. I am not in shape to hike. The heat was already 85 degrees and it was barely past 9 in the morning. I wore tennis shoes instead of hiking boots. Did we bring enough water and was now a good time for a water break? Am I too old for this? Am I too inexperienced for this?
Doubt began to rob…as doubt will do if you let it.
I didn’t share these thoughts with Ian…instead, choosing to mull them over privately lest he think I was weak…
As our steps took us farther from the path’s opening and nearer the path’s view, I tried to relax and enjoy the challenge…
Ian explained that at times, the path would be made more narrow by natural occurrences…and, that I had to choose each time…would this be the “rough spot” which made me turn around and go back or would I brave the challenge and press forward?
And, he was right.
Interwoven along path “A” were many obstacles – downed tree branches, whole tree trunks, stones, wooden beams, rocks, boulders, branches and boulders, vines, and holes which could trip up one’s feet plunging them down into the river.
Oddly, just as much, were the “man made” bridges and walkways and paths placed here and there and which seemed to arrive at just the appropriate time to build one’s courage to remain on path.
I asked Ian about these human built paths….and, he said, “That is to help keep a hiker encouraged to not give up on their journey and to ensure in the most dangerous of spots that they have some safety to bolster their courage and fortitude.” But, he assured me….not all paths have these blessings…..some paths are just as they are….broken, dangerous and demand a vision of the hiker to finish.We hiked on…and, with each step, I grew more encouraged that regardless of what obstacle next came to meet our steps, I could do this...
And, in the doing, met courage…
The more difficult the obstacle the greater the feeling having gone past it. The more I had gone past it, the more prepared I was for the next obstacle.
I could feel Ian’s smile as my determination grew….I was learning.
And, I was growing in things more than just learning how to walk a path to a view.
My vision and perspective was changing.
No longer was I holding his hand on the rough spots, choosing instead to “do it myself”….at times, I even took the lead. I learned to enjoy the areas where breeze and greenery gave air so that the next trip through the heat and sun could be survived.
I could do this. I would do this. And, my mother’s words from a childhood book came to mind, “I think I can, I think I can”….bubbled in my thoughts…
And, then everything changed….
“I think we should cut short our path today, Lesa”, said Ian.
“What?” I said
“Yes, I think we should take this white path out of here and head on home. We have traveled over an hour, we have seen the view, we have braved some steep and rocky challenges. But, as in life, sometimes, you have to pace yourself for the long haul.”
“I WAS pacing myself!!!.....I was mentally pacing myself for the finish of the long path through the heat in spite of my anxiety”…”I cannot quit….I will not quit.”
And, then he said what I will never forget…
“Lesa, just because you chose to take another path home, does not mean you are quitting. It means the path you are on will not allow you to get home.”
“If we continue on in stubborn perseverance out of pride rather than consider the wiser option of choosing a new path which leads to home, what have we gained if we cannot finish the journey?”
Nothing. But, what we may get is death...and, that is not what life is about. Life is about living...
In the end, it is about persevering and finishing the journey.
In my life, as I am sure is true of yours, there are journeys which I did not complete. Some of them I let go of, but some still haunt me because I did not put myself in the position of finishing the journey. Of having success. Of “finishing the race”.
Ian’s point was well made and received.
If cutting short our several hour hike to a one and a half hour hike better prepared me for the next hike, and allows me to grow in a healthy way from the experience, then that makes good sense.
Because in the long haul, life is a journey, a series of fallings down and gettins up….of starting and stopping.
And, this life I have is one journey in which I want to finish….strong….purposeful and for Him…
Blessings,
Lesa
My nephew is visiting us. What a joy and delight it is to have his fresh face and untattered heart amongst our family. He adds a softness to our teenage tough boys. He brings out the sweetheart in our daughter and he draws from his Uncle and me a fresh view of “everyday” things in life…
