The Road Not Taken

                           

                            This post is not a review of the poem, "The Road not Taken". But rather my personal view of it. I remember reading the poem probably when I was in 7th grade( though not very sure of it). Poems and non-detailed text were the ones that induced my interest in reading. This particular poem has a very special place always in my heart because it reminds me of the choices that I took in life. 

Your choices in life matter

                            The poem speaks about a traveler, who in his journey comes to a place in the woods where he sees two roads diverging into two different paths. For him to continue on the journey, he must choose one of the paths. The traveler has never passed these paths before, therefore he does not know where it leads to. So, he stands at the fork wondering which path to chose. He takes a long look at both paths. He looks at the first road and tries to sees as far as he could, where it leads until the road bends further. Then, he takes a look at the second road, something about it made him feel that it was better than the other. It seemed a little grassier than the other at first sight. But as he gazed longer, he thought that both the roads looked the same to him. Since he was there early in the morning and fresh leaves have fallen on both the roads, they were covered in yellow leaves that were not yet trodden black. Thus, making both look similar.

                           In the end, he made a choice to travel on the second road which in his first opinion seemed like the one that was less traveled by, meaning that many have not traveled in that path. And the poet says that some years and ages from then, he might say with the sigh that he chose a path that few had chosen and it has made all the difference in his life. Yet, the poet does not say if the sigh was of relief and the differences it made were for good, which gives room for a lot of speculation and theories. 

Following JESUS leads to life

                            As for me, this poem did not leave me at crossroads but rather helped me with a definite decision. This poem was a memorizing poem for me. While I was learning this poem, I had already begun a habit of reading my Bible, where I read in the gospel of Matthew about the paths that lead to life and death. And how the gate and road to life were narrow, while the gate and path to death were board and many walk in it. While the few ever chose the path to life. Something about the poem and this Bible verse connected in. my spirit, pushing me to take the road that is less traveled. At that moment I made a choice like this poet to take the road that few chose and very less travel. I made the choice to walk the narrow road of life and it has in fact made a lot of difference in my life. I can say with a sigh of relief that "I took the one less traveled by and it had made all the difference." 

                              We are often at such a crossroads and come to places in our lives where we have to take hard decisions and make infamous choices. The path we chose may not be familiar and popular among others, but the choice we make will definitely make a difference in our lives. I pray that the choices that you make in your life will bring differences in your life and in the lives of your loved ones for good.