Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
Two Roads
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.
Robert Frost – The Road Not Taken, 1915.
Whenever this poem comes into view it gives me pause. I have to read it several times and then I think about all the roads that have presented themselves to me. I’ll be 73 next month, and in that span of time so many roads – opportunities, really – have stretched out before me. Big decisions have been made as a result and I can honestly say that I have very few regrets about them.
In our book, “Kaleidoscope Diaries”, my friend Sheila and I talk about those life changing moments when, as with a twist of the kaleidoscope, a whole new pattern emerges. As we wrote the stories for the book we often discussed just how transparent we were willing to be. The result was an open, honest, and affirming collection of pieces of our lives. There were many roads that were available for each of us to travel and I believe the decisions we made gifted us with rich and fulfilling opportunities.
Of course there are some moves that I made without thinking them through, like deciding to take 10 weeks off my nursing job to become a SCUBA instructor. Even the prospect of not having my same job when I got back did not stop me. I read about the program in Jacksonville, Florida, and signed up on the spot. The Director of Nursing had to sign my leave request and she told me she honestly didn’t know why I would want to do such a thing. She had never been SCUBA diving so my explanation fell on deaf ears.
In 2009, after years of traveling to Santa Fe for vacation, my soul tugged on me really hard to make a change. Towards the end of a long gray St. Louis winter two roads opened up. I could stay in my familiar environment, or I could travel the road that called to me and move to Santa Fe. I arrived there in June of 2009 and never looked back. My six years there were among the best, ever.
I think of life as a tapestry woven with threads from many origins. As I look back and examine the times I’ve done the unexpected, I realize how blessed I have been. I have faith that my Higher Power (that created the Universe) gives me so many ways to appreciate the trajectory of my life. At my age, with more time behind me than left ahead of me, I pray that I will continue to remain open to the possibilities that present themselves. From experience, I see that the road less traveled should always be an option. And so it is. Amen.
