"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." -R. Frost
As a small child my Mother read me Robert Frost. He was one of her favorite poets and she wanted to share his greatness with me. The words in this poem always resonated with me, and they stuck, far beyond those nights curled up on my Mom's lap.
When I reached a crossroads in my journey back from that tragic day in December 2012, I ultimately chose a new path, one of hope, one of change-and that made all the difference. We each have that choice when we find ourselves in the ruin of a devastating life event-where two roads diverge, to proceed forward on a new path, to blaze a new trail-to continue forward in a way that works for us.
Sometimes the path you have walked makes it impossible to be where you once were and, in turn, leads you somewhere new. Sometimes in our lives things happen to us-that make it impossible to go on living the same way as we had before. Sometimes when you find yourself on that path, you will find yourself all alone.
The path is often a less traveled one, because it is your own. You have worked hard to be on that new path-to find it, to walk it. Don't apologize for it, make excuses for it, or feel badly for it. Own your path, your journey to get there, your ability to press on. It is yours alone. It's your path.
At the end of the day-the path you have forged for yourself, is a hard fought path. I never understood the significance and gravity of this poems' message as a small child. I thought 'We can each choose our own path, how wonderful is that?' What I didn't realize, was that sometimes, that path was more than just a choice-it was the only choice...and that path will make all the difference.