Thursday, September 23, 2010

The Road Not Taken

Chopwell - Warmth of autumn

I've enjoyed poetry most of my life. I remember reading goofy poetry as a child, and as a teen collecting books of poetry from the more famous writers. I've kept my own poetry journals for as long as I can remember. I have always especially liked this poem by Robert Frost.  I just "get" his work. It makes sense to me.
" 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 "      (Can't you just picture yourself there? Standing in the woods....wondering which way you should go?)

This sums things up so well for me, in so many ways. For each of us, our choices, our decisions in life, lead us down a road. We have choices each day about what we are going to do. Decisions that seem so small and insignificant at the time can subtlety change our path, our course, the direction our lives take.
"...Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back."   (Yep. I get this. Don't we think we could do something different later, but we are lazy and we don't.)

Do you ever dream? Do you expand your borders? Do you wake up to the possibilities? You know it doesn't really matter whether you are 4, 14, or 84....or anywhere in between. As long as you have breath, you can choose the road that you are traveling down. It seems like it would be easy, but the truth is (as I can well attest) sometimes the journey is just hard. It is also painful. The pack on my back, is heavy. It weighs me down. I wish I would have packed lighter, for this trip. Other days the road is easy...I might even skip down the road...I realize just how good I have it.

I choose the path less traveled. Some days my trip is tiresome and I'm desperate for new scenery. I plod ahead. One foot in front of the other. I wonder if I'll ever see anything new or exciting. Then the day comes, I top the hill and I look out across the most beautiful sight my eyes could imagine. I hold this image in my heart, my view on that day makes the journey worthwhile. I remember that day, when I'm farther down the road. It keeps me going.

Life is interesting like that . Isn't it that way for all of us?  The ups and the downs. The successes, the failures. The commitments, the regrets. I realize that my journey must encompass all these things. My road has to have bumps and dangers in it, as well as smooth, flat areas. It keeps the trip down the road much more interesting, and as the traveler, makes me much more strong and capable and empathetic.
"...two roads diverged in a wood, and I-,

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference."  (That really says it all, doesn't it?)

As much as I enjoy Robert Frost...there is another man I enjoy more.  His name is Paul.   Paul's life changed forever one day when he was on a road. The road to Damascus. That is the day Paul met Jesus---in person. After that day, on that road, Paul was never the same. How could he be? That day, he knew what it was to really live. He never looked back. His road was not easy. Threatened. Imprisoned. Beaten. And yet, while held as a prisoner in Rome, realizing his days were few, he wrote this to his friend, Timothy.......

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7

AMEN.

3 comments:

  1. I choose the path less traveled. Some days my trip is tiresome and I’m desperate for new scenery. I plod ahead. One foot in front of the other. I wonder if I’ll ever see anything new or exciting. Then the day comes, I top the hill and I look out across the most beautiful sight my eyes could imagine. I hold this image in my heart, my view on that day makes the journey worthwhile. I remember that day, when I’m farther down the road. It keeps me going.... Thank you for the words!... Blessings to you... Bro Pat ..OBA.

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  2. [...] The Road Not Taken (via Dawn’s Blog) Posted on September 23, 2010 by Old Brush Arbors| Leave a comment I've enjoyed poetry most of my life. I remember reading goofy poetry as a child, and as a teen collecting books of poetry from the more famous writers. I've kept my own poetry journals for as long as I can remember. I have always especially liked this poem by Robert Frost.  I just "get" his work. It makes sense to me. " 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 … Read More [...]

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  3. I had to memorize this poem my 10th grade year, and then give the aspects of what Robert Frost was trying to tell the reader. As I look back through the years, I also realize that there has been many mountains and plains that I have crossed.

    Some people state that if they could go back in time they would take another road, yet I have learned from the long journey on the road that I have taken. I know that there will be obstacles, bumps, and mountains. I look forward to traveling down this road less traveled.

    In Sunday School we have discussed the life of Paul. Paul was a very unique man, and I stay very interested in learning all of the events that Paul encountered throughout his life.

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