The Road Not Taken

The Road Not Taken Robert Frost

 

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

 

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

 

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

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

 

I had this poem in English A level in “Thanaweya 3amma” but for a reason or another I could never forget it. It is in my mind every now and then and my understanding to it changes and improves by time

Each and every decision made, each and every journey taken I usually remember it and  really do not know why !!

Sometimes I understand the road not taken as the usual thinking of a decision not made and how you may think the “what if” scenarios that come to your mind when facing problems in some decisions you make and the “what if “I did not do this, the “what if” I did the other choice ……

The “thing “you may think of may be any type of choices you made: a career, a friend, a relation, or no relation, a move in your life, …..anything can apply to the road not taken

 

Sometimes I understand “the road not taken” as taking the unusual untraditional ways is the only difference you can make to your life

But for me in 90 % of case I understand it as the first option, why we as humans usually rethink about our decisions and the “what if scenarios” are dominant in our thinking

Although by experience when you look back to a certain situation and revisit your choices you usually would take the same choice each and every time you redo it !!

Why are we obsessed with the “undo” option in life and hope that we would have that button to push to “undo” events, choices, and days of our lives

In all cases you really choose between options but in reality you are fulfilling god’s plans for you and your destinations are pre-planned even before coming to life so why the overthinking thing

I recently believe that everything is pre-planned by a bigger force than our tiny human well and when you surrender to this thinking you will have a better feeling and inner peace and enjoy your life

For me looking back to lots of events I find out that I do not regret anything both good and bad events because the good things made me happy and the bad things made me learn

The most important thing is the joy in the journey not the road or the destination, because eventually and surprisingly both roads may have the same destination and thinking of the other road may ruin the joy in the journey and of course ruin your life  

But what I am sure of, is that this poem will be in my mind forever in the two different meanings and who knows I may find a third or forth meaning. At that time I promise I will have a new post called the road not taken part 2 !!!!