10.03.09

The Path Less Taken…

Posted in It's All About Me(and Those Voices in My Head) at 6:21 pm by Administrator

We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon.–Emil Zatopek

 We are all born runners.  Some run for the sport. Some of us for the challenge.  Yet others run to be healthy. And then there are those of us that just run…away from or towards something.  It is a cycle all too often seen in this tumultuous life.  After the initial burn, we run.  We develop a sixth sense, an internal warning system, that steers us from the fire and down the secure path.  We run towards safety and eventually surmise that in our case, that safety is not in numbers as originally professed to us.  Yet it is the solitary confinement of our internal race down the secluded road.

There are side roads that arise to lure us off the course.  To catch us off guard and lead us down the path of vulnerability.  They are dark and sinister in appearance.  Like that fog laden, wooded road in the horror movies.  We are unable to see ahead and behind.  We know something is there…but what?  And why?  For a slight moment, we weigh our options.  Perhaps considering the dense fog will lift and reveal a field of peace and beauty beyond our dreams.  Then we remember the raging fire that ushered us to this moment.  We anguish by reliving the hole left inside us and the inner scars for which there are no cure.  And with that, we turn to our chosen path, and continue to run.

Some of these side roads disguise themselves differently.  They spring forward with a tranquility that is intoxicating.  They call to us to simply take one step down this avenue, promising this path less taken to be our salvation.  They offer the unimaginable…Serenity, Harmony and Inner Contentment.  A magic potion to cure the scars within and erase the visions of the torment that em-placed them in the first place.  The temptation is strong.  But our conscious rears up and reminds us….if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  So we again turn and stay the course.

Yet as we forge our way down the path, the thoughts of the unknown begin to consume us.  Perhaps veering to the left and experiencing the thrill of the unknown is part of the process.  Maybe its not about consistently winning the straight 100 meter dash, but about experiencing the fulfillment of the marathon and the trials endured during the race. For this safe and narrow run we have chosen, though predictable and secure, lacks the excitement of the winding side roads. 

And few who have completed the marathon ever looked back and expressed regret for stepping up to the challenges it had to offer.  Instead, they professed a sense of self-satisfaction for manuevering off the main stream, charging up hill and running across the finish line that only one tenth of one percent of the population have ever crossed.

So here we stand staring at this fork in the road and wondering….if our destination, though relevant, pales in comparison to the awe-inspiring journey of the path less taken to get there.

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