When a road plays out

Two roads diverged in 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

But 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

But, knowing how way leads onto way, I doubted that I should ever be back.

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 memorized Frost's The Road Not Taken in 7th grade for a speech contest and have remembered it ever since. It has great value to me because of the application I give it to decisions in my life. Every year since 7th grade some kind of major decision has to be made in my life. So, I reflect on this poem, especially the last line. And the last line is true because the last line in the preceding stanza tends to be the axiom of life.

I don't know why it is that I take a path and then all of a sudden it takes a turn. Then the last line of the first stanza is true. I don't trust undergrowths. They hide things on my path. But paths usually have commonalities, so the second whole stanza is true as I evaluate my view of life again given a shot at a choice of two roads - because the one I am on ends and presents two new paths. This happens at least once a year.

So, this year when it happened, I recognized the fork in the road when it first came into view. Because I hate undergrowths, and because the other path had the better claim, I chose the other path. I am so grateful. And at least one friend who has known me a while has commented that I seem happier than I have been in a really long time, certainly a confirmation that the right choice has been made. So, I''ll end this blog where the poem ends. This new path has made all the difference.