Road Less Traveled

Jeremy has been trying to get me to read “The Road Less Traveled” for years now. He even sent it to me when I was living in Maine. I think I read a few chapters here and there years ago, but never really felt compelled to do the cover-to-cover thing.

Here I am in Middlebury, VT, at Jeremy and Kat’s house, and which book did I happen to pick up? Yeah, “The Road Less Traveled”. Aside from the fact that the author is sexist, racist, homophobic, anachronistic, and really into God…I’m glad I’ve taken the time to read the book. Yes, I’ve been self-reflective. Yes, I’ve taken my thoughts and actions of late and turned them inside out to understand my motives more deeply. Yes, I am constantly trying to get better at being the person I want to be. And while I don’t credit this book with giving me any kind of startling revelations, I will say that I feel more motivated to continue on my journey of greater human connection and relationships.

When I was in my early twenties, I thought I knew everything there was to know…about the world, about the people around me, and particularly about myself. Fortunately, I’ve gotten over that and realize that I will always be learning. In fact, the older I get, the more I think I actually know nothing and have become increasingly open to being educated.

So, recently, I’ve decided to veer onto a road less traveled by me and put myself out there to people in a way I never thought I could. I do thank one of the other J’s in my life to helping push me out of my comfort zone, onto a unfamiliar road, and, ultimately and surprisingly, into a place of greater happiness and comfort.

I may have been one of the most guarded people alive up until a few months ago, but having chipped at my wall, I find that it is crumbling quite easily and happily. So to anyone – any one – reading this, I challenge you to step outside of your walls. Tell someone something you’ve always wanted to tell them, but have been too afraid to. Open up. Find the way to your road less traveled. It’s frightening, impossibly difficult at first, and not something that most people ever do in their lives. But I’ve found that the effects are magnanimous. Yes, there has been pain involved in being open. No, I haven’t gotten all the responses I had hoped for. But I know what it means to live much more now than I ever was able to when I stood behind a cement wall and only had brief glimpses of the other side.