The Road Untaken

I’ve always liked poems… Well, certain poems. There are certain styles, and definitely certain authors that speak to me. I’ve never understood the logic of some poetry patterns, nor the rules associated with what works and what doesn’t.

Some poems make sense, and many others do not.

Consider Robert Frost. I know several who simply cannot stand his style, and that’s their choice, but I’ve enjoyed many of his poems. He was chosen by JFK to read a poem at his inauguration. Due to complications with the day, he ended up reciting a favored poem, and not the one he had just written for the occasion. Or so the story goes.

In my school years, Frost was the one poet that spoke volumes to my understanding. His words and stride made sense to this young mind. Just like many, “Stopping by a Woods on a Snowy Evening” is probably a number one favorite. The closing words are phrases I have used often.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   
But I have promises to keep,   
And miles to go before I sleep,   
And miles to go before I sleep.

Think about it!

Promises are many and must be kept,
but the Miles keep beckoning me forward. 

There is a reason to keep going even when the quietness and beauty of the winter traveled road is beckoning.

I remember stopping by a snowy woods in Alaska one cold and dark night. I recalled his poem and it immediately rang to my ears a sincere note. The darkest evening of the year would have been the Winter Solstice…and the woods beckoned me to leave the crowd behind and strike out for the quiet and solitude.

The Quiet Road

Another Frost favorite is called, “The Road Not Taken“. The dilemma of a road that diverges in a yellow wood (probably the fall) and the ponderous moment of choosing one, or the other, but silently wishing there was a way to enjoy them both.

The traveler makes the choice for the one less traveled, “And that has made all the difference.” Each was an equal choice, but the one taken was grassy and wanted wear.

In my life, I have often felt like this poem. Take the way less traveled. Do not go where the masses may go, but strike out for the boundary of the realm where few people go. I love to go to less traveled places, staying away from the tourist crowd, walking in paths that few will ever enjoy. I’m not the adventurer as some are, but I do enjoy getting away from the noise and relaxing in the solitude. The quiet. The peace.

It’s not that the other way is wrong, but I’m a loner by nature. Some would call me an introvert. I am often happiest when it’s quiet and there are few others along the way. I can get my “crowd” buzz in a simple coffee shop, where chatter fades with the grinding of the beans, or the shot of steam marking another successful brew. Give me a few minutes there to connect with others, then it is very easy to slip out and head for the solo drive. Quiet. No radio chatter, or music to divide my attention.

Travels to a Lonely Place

A number of years ago, several of us took advantage of a fly-in fishing trip. An hour flight into the bush out of Anchorage, Alaska.

As we watched the float plane head off into the wild blue yonder, I realized how far off the beaten path we were.

True, a couple of weeks hard march and we could circle the water and end up in some form of civilization, but there were bears in abundance, and streams, rivers, and munching moose.

There was never a lonelier feeling. Even with the 4 of us together, and, yes, other fishing camps nearby… It was the sense of the ease of escape that winged eastward and left us stranded and isolated on the bank of a river.

Imagine that intrepid explorer, leaving the familiar behind and heading where few have ever traveled, or where it was a true unknown. Can you imagine them launching before a crowd? Columbus, Bridger, Cook, Lewis, Clark… even Neal Armstrong!

Noisy, Crowded

I’ve traveled in a few tour groups where the constant chatter of others drives me bonkers. I have to step away, enjoy the quiet role of a watcher from the sidelines with no one else around.

It was on my first trip to Israel and we were wrapping up our journey by crossing over the Jordan river, into the country of Jordan. Here we would visit Petra, and wing our way home.

The boisterous crowd was nearly my undoing!

You walk down the narrowing canyon until finally, you spill out of the heated walls into the wider chasm of the city – it felt like water forced through a funnel! I pulled aside, found my shade, and simply enjoyed watching others enjoying their journey. 

Some of my best moments and insights come from leaving the crowd and thinking through the journey from the sidelines.

Slow Me Down, Lord

This makes me slow down to consider the road that others take, and the one I’ve chosen.

My path. Their path. The path I walk is my choice, and not the road many others take.

I liken it to a teaching by Jesus in his famous sermon on the mount. Quite possibly I stood on that very mount overlooking the Sea of Galilee where there was ample room for the thousands to sit, and the natural amphitheater of water and hills to project his voice.

Here, Jesus describes much of what I’m talking about but for a different purpose. There is a difference to the path one might choose. Broad, or narrow. Destruction, or life. Crowded, or maybe, nearly barren.

“Enter by the narrow gate;
for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction,
and there are many who go in by it.
Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life,
and there are few who find it.” 
(Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV)

Maybe this less traveled road is found by the few that choose a better way. Perhaps it requires striking out from the crowds for a more perfect life. Not the broad way that some clamber for, where everyone else has migrated. The incessant clatter of human-generated sounds and the constant press of bodies into the crowded streets – that’s not a vacation that I would be interested in!

Rather, give me that quiet road that leads to a different destination. The better of the two. Often the road less traveled.

Here, the road taken is better than the road not taken.