Crossroads

"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" (ca. 1920)

This poem, "The Road Not Taken," is one of my favorites.  I find it profound, thought provoking, calming.  I meditate upon Frost's words with great frequency.  I wish to live my life this way.  I wish to take the road less traveled by and I hope upon hope that it will indeed make all the difference.

I find myself standing at a crossroads, and I wonder quite sincerely which path is the less traveled, which path will make the biggest difference.  I am not sure there is any real way to know the answer with any certainty....

I know what I want.  I know what kind of life I wish to have.  I carry with me certain expectations--neatly wrapped and hidden away, but there all the same.  

I am only now beginning to understand that I fully deserve to choose my own path and to have the ideals and desires I hold close met.  

I am also experiencing a slow but steady awakening, a realization that I am myself fully capable of meeting my own needs and wants.  I am myself fully capable of weighing the pros and cons of life's situations and of making difficult decisions without outside influences.  I am myself fully capable of choosing the road less taken and enjoying the journey--wherever it may lead me.

I am also learning the immense value of patience and fortitude.  I do not need to rush.  I am at a crossroads--two roads diverged in a wood---and I can stand at that crossroads as long as I please.  I can take my time.  I owe it to myself to consider these paths and to consider my options.  So....

TWO roads diverged 

in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not

travel both 

And be one traveler, 

                                           long I stood....