Friday, February 10, 2012

There is a poem that speaks of a traveler coming upon a fork in the woods and choosing the road less traveled—which made all the difference in his life. The takeaway is that the well-traveled road leads to a common, usual and familiar life, while the less-traveled road leads to an obviously more fulfilled life. Most people see the well-traveled road as wide and manicured, certainly without obstacles; the less-traveled road is seen as narrow, possibly with low-hanging branches and grass growing underfoot.

Could it be that both realities are the same, indistinguishable from each other? The truth is that it is not what road you take but how you travel it. It is simply a choice. You have chosen to walk this journey called life; so, why not choose the more adventurous, scenic and interesting path? Be willing to step aside from the random and routine, the commonplace and accepted. Step forward in your own unique expression of who you are.

Do not pre-judge the spiritual path as either difficult or precarious. You may encounter obstacles along the way, but that is no different than any road you take. Perhaps that fork in the road had two road signs: the more traveled road, an arrow pointing to ordinary and mediocre; the other, the road less traveled, pointing to your unique destiny and self-awareness.

Commonplace can seem easy, in reality it is a hard task master. All life, no matter what path you choose, has challenges. Why not choose challenges that mean something so that at the end of the journey you are more than what you began, rather than simply being what you already are. That is the meaning of the road less traveled.