My road

The road before me is full of twists and turns. It is inviting at times being surrounded by lush green and shaded at spots by the overhanging boughs of flowering trees. The river runs by it for long stretches occasionally swelling to a mighty roar and at other times dwindling into a merry bubbling stream. And yet some portions of the road are hard to traverse - steep uphill climbs with no way to see what follows every crazy bend. On some days I have to forge my own road for there is none in front of me or else the one that was there has eroded to no more than a faint memory. And yet again there are days when I am so far off the beaten track, all I see is wilderness around me.

When everything is fine and there is a sense of complacency about my actions, the road ahead is smooth and without surprises – it is also boring and lulls me to sleep. That is when I am least productive for none of my senses are energized since I have nothing to focus on. But its also the time I can dream and lose myself in an array of thoughts both bewildering and fascinating. I have realized that it is that facet of my nature that helps me create new paths when I need it and focus hard on my next steps when I absolutely have to.

The nasty twisted treacherous parts of the road build character. Yes its hard but then it simply has to be accepted. It has to be survived and I have always grown stronger after traversing those parts of my life road that seemed cruelly tortuous at the time. Surrendering to the fact that sometimes the road is nearly impassable and yet taking it all in one’s stride requires not a little strength but then the sense of accomplishment at successfully journeying through such stretches is immense.

At times when there are no roads or markers for me to follow, the only way out is to listen to my heart and heed its urging. Could I be making a terrible mistake? Many a times I certainly have. Could there also be a possibility of discovering something so breathtakingly wonderful that it beggars even my rather fertile imagination? Yes, that too has happened. So of all the paths I have trodden, the ones I love most are the ones where I followed no one else.

Gradually I have realized that my road with all its ups and downs has something to teach me every step of the way. The good days are when I husband my strength. The hard days are when I live off those resources I have built up during the good days. The adventurous days are when I throw caution to the wind and laugh and go crazy like a child – when I receive with both hands the beautiful yet ephemeral gifts that make life so blessed.

There are days when I feel the overwhelming need to step backward to see a bit more clearly the nature of the path before me. It is merely to ascertain what I need to do to tackle more effectively an unfamiliar path or one that looks hostile almost as if overgrown with thorny thickets. Sometimes it is also to see just how beautiful the road is for oftentimes in our journey through life, we forget to appreciate the path we have chosen to traverse it. We can scarce remember our beginning and we know not our ending but the time in between is something that we can celebrate ...and so I walk upon my chosen path learning every day and growing stronger – sometimes I even laugh out loud...