It feels like yesterday, looking down a dark, brooding path diverging ahead. In my early twenties, a tinge of excitement mixed with apprehension, wondering what was around the bend. It’s a feeling we all know: an itch to be scratched – a mysterious dream pushing us to take the first step down a new path.
Leaving the well-lit and comfortable road, we begin a trek into the unknown, metaphorically falling down the rabbit hole.
With my cup of Jordanian coffee this morning, I sink deeper into my chair and ponder the ‘what if…’ of my life.
How would it have turned out had I stayed on the well-lit path I’d been walking?
Reminiscing about the different possible paths throughout life is stimulating. There’s a certain romanticism in convincing myself how I broke free from one existence and ran wild into another. The refrain from Frank Sinatra’s classic – and one many blowhards, including myself, have stolen – I did it my way 🎶
Reading an email from a friend earlier, which included Robert Frost’s poem, The Road Not Taken, was the catalyst that started me thinking of my ‘road less traveled‘ story.
“Why do my friends send me this poem so often?” I wonder and read aloud the last three lines of Frost’s famous poem:
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
“You really wonder why?” my inner voice replies with a spark. “This misconstrued quote every blogger, Instagram hero, adventurer, and social media addict in the world wraps themselves up in?” The humorous tone sharpens the unspoken meaning ‘of anyone, you should know better…’
A good retort.
It is a relatively simple poem to read and understand; its meaning runs in contrast to those famous last three lines that Frost wrote more than 100 years ago. It’s a piece of art.
Art in humor and reflection. It’s not the road itself, the attraction, but in making a decision and being done with it – move forward without regret on what may have been had you chosen otherwise.
It’s in our nature to reflect upon the ‘what if…’ of life. We want to experience it all, but if we allow ourselves to get bogged down and reflect on what ‘the other road’ could have been, we will never fully appreciate the road we are on. Paralysis by analysis… at times, my worst enemy.
And yes, the beauty of those last three satirical lines takes this poem into another realm for me. This inside joke Frost creates is why his masterpiece is at the heart of American poetry. We love creating stories.
My friend’s email is a humorous poke at me in the same vein. When asked about a decision made at some point in life, don’t we all sigh and wistfully recall, among friends and strangers alike, how, when facing that forge in the road long ago, we sought the one less traveled by, and it made all the difference in the world.
In reality, the decision is somewhat sterile, much like the road ahead. In Frost’s poem, when facing two diverging roads, the roads are similar in nature, and what matters most is to decide. Don’t look back; instead, dive into the journey with abandon.
The decision on what path to take is irrelevant – it’s the journey that defines a life lived. Focusing energy on the adventure ahead, not dwelling on what could have been, builds the thrill of the road less traveled, the thrill of the personal journey.
A little myth-making on our part is why Frost’s last three lines make me smile whenever I read it. Creating the drama of the journey makes it possible for us to say in the end, “Damn right, I made the correct choice,” especially since there is no way of knowing where the other would have gone.
The myth of the road less traveled is deeply embedded in the human psyche, especially in Western culture, particularly in the USA, where there’s a strong desire to be distinct from others and blaze our own trail. This sense of freedom, courage, and imagination instills in us the faith that the path we choose will lead us to our full potential.
The story we create in our mind is a narrative of our emotions, an inspiration of reality to spur us forward. Is it a better story than reality, or could it be reality itself? The human mind is a powerful thing.
The myth, this is the tease – the reason why this poem captures my spirit. It’s only after a decision that the road begins to take shape. The adventure within our mind takes over and thus begins the proverbial “road less traveled.”
Enjoy the ride. Live the stories.
The stories we tell ourselves create our own myths; that’s human nature. Looking back without regret is part of this process, as I am doing this morning, asking myself the titillating question of “what if…” only enhances my story.
What if I decided to stay in Seattle and pursue my career there instead of China? Or what if I stayed in Xi’an or Qingdao instead of heading to Beijing, where a chance encounter led me to Hong Kong and a job I was underqualified for but ran with and watched bloom into something else?
All so I could end up here, in Kamýk nad Vltavou, Czechia.
If there is one thing about Frost’s poem I take to heart, it’s the poem’s soul: decisions are simply decisions – make one and don’t look back wistfully. Instead, get lost in the possibilities and carry the attitude to go forward boldly – and do so with a smile.
The Road Not Taken reflects upon storytelling – how we narrativize life.
If we stay true to our nature, the road is irrelevant. We make life what it is: an adventure, whether on the other side of the globe or in our backyard.
There’s no sense in looking back too often, for it clogs the mind. It’s a killer, a waste of time and emotions. Add regret to the mix, and it can become a downward spiral.
Frost’s poem is a commentary on indecision and regret, with an added humorous poke at the practice of storytelling. It’s a piece of Americana and a piece of the world. Within everyone’s mind is a unique universe on a path to something unimaginable.
To conquer a mountain trail, a beautiful sunrise/sunset over wheatfields, or simply the feel of another. All pieces of a noteworthy life. A decision that leads to a road less traveled – for it truly does make all the difference in the world.
Global Sojourns: Photography & Philosophy 
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