It took me only a couple of minutes to realize the truth in that statement. In life, we do really come across those 'decision-making-crossroads' (And I assume that includes the Inky-Pinky-Ponky ones too!), and sometimes we do not realize that we are in fact at such a juncture. More often than not, we do take the easy way out. Reminded me of this poem I came across in high school:
The Road Not Taken
By 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.
Theories abound and arguments continue over the interpretation of this poem - if Frost was mocking his friend's indecisiveness, if it was about his choice in life to become a poet, if there is a satire in saying that 'Though as for that the passing there, Had worn them really about the same' alluding to the fact that we see what we want to see, and a lot of other views.
Be as it may, it all boils down to making a choice. What triggers a person to lean towards one choice more than another? Is it the state of mind at that point of time, the pressures, the feasibility, the 'correctness' of the decision..? Does his 'And that has made all the difference' ring a satisfactory tone, or a sigh of things that may-have-been?
They say that people who are mentally strong, and keep a cool & clear head while making a decision are those who are good decision makers. Why? Why can it not be that fickle minded people think about an issue in more angles than one, and hence cannot make up their mind? Eventually, everyone does end up making a decision, for good or bad. And time will tell.. Even then, down the lane, some might look back, some might not. Some might regret it, and some might reap a future benefit from the wrong choice (as it might have seemed at an earlier point in time) they made. Is life just a play of probability? Is it just nothing but a 0-1/on-off choice?
Society shapes what you think. But aren't you a part of the society? And thus influencing some other person's train of thought? If that were true, are we all just a tapestry bound together by interwoven thought processes? What of the so called non-conformists? Are they the knots in between? Do they need to be weeded out? I would think not. They add the textural dimension, don't they? Would you rather have a cotton rug beneath your feet, or a nice knotted Persian?
All you need is the belief to adhere to your decision, and the strength to see it through. That is what strong people are made of, not a single window of thought.. Deep down, you must just believe that you are doing what you think is smart and right. Right - morally and ethically. And from this decision and conviction will spring the strength that will carry you through it. It took the spider all the way up, did it not? :)
I will always remember the one line that takes me through life: 'Everything that happens, happens for the best'. How easy it is to throw the dice, and realize that you have done your part, and the faces that land up on the dice are not really in your hands (as long as you ain't cheatin'..!) As big as you think that your life has its problems, there are people out there with problems much worse anyways.
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