I was standing on the bridge over the River Spey. As you can see, it branches into two tributaries.
I looked left first and there is this lovely bit of river, smooth and calm, easily navigable, leading to promising lands (or so it feels).
Then I looked right to the narrow bit of the river, meandering and dangerous and thought, if I was in a canoe, this is where I should go. It would be much more interesting, really.
I had to wrench my gaze from the left tributary. It looked so peaceful and simple.
Joseph Campbell said Take the Road Less Travelled.
Then I thought again. Why would I want to paddle my canoe down that narrow, unpleasant looking arm of the river?
Because Joseph Campbell said...blah blah blah
And I thought some more (I am doing a lot of thinking up here in the snow and the ice, with the mountains looking on).
How many times in my life have I taken that Road Less Travelled and what happened?
I got on the wrong course and persevered head long into disaster. I stayed in a dead marriage for years. I tried to make things work out that were unworkable. I bought into Suffering is Good for You, it will make you stronger. I believed that "Wherever you go, there you are".
And yet, had I chosen the Road More Travelled...
I looked at the left hand side, smooth as silk, majestic and attractive.
The Road Less Travelled, dear friends, is full of brambles, dangerous and tricky. It demands so much efforts to follow it that frankly, I can no longer see the point of it. Imagine crossing the Sahara on foot instead of hiring a good couple of camels, a guide or ten or even better using a four by four. Why on earth would anyone want to do that?
The Road More Travelled, on the other hand, has many safe havens on it. People have been here before you. They have set up resting places.The brambles have been cut back. The grass is lush, easy to walk on. You might even meet others there who can teach you a few things.
Whereas on the other road, you will only meet haggard figures grimly trying to enjoy the agony. Do you think they will give you a helping hand?
I am off onto the Road More Travelled easier, better sign posted.
I wonder where it will lead me!
With love
Baya
I think part of the "road less travelled" trope is actually about making decisions based on genuinely "true" (personally) information. It seems to me to be about having some idea of your own needs and being able to follow them rather than doing what is "the norm". I think that just going for the "less travelled path" without consideration of your deeper needs is not a good way to go, but I think that sometimes we need to be able to walk the less travelled road as we are not always compatible with the more travelled one. Thanks for this post, thought provoking.
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