The Path Less Trodden

The Old and The New

Robert Frost made famous the expression about choosing the path less trodden in his poem ' The Road Not Taken.' It promised the traveler an adventure and an opportunity to open their eyes to something not previously encountered. However it also hints at dangers not familiar with and sometimes such experiences can leave a mark that will not wash easily.

A path that is familiar with most people runs through the passions … past the foliage of leaves weathered by the seasons that crackle with the familiarity of voices and whispers. Its safe and its the stuff of the social lives we build our reliance upon. Our friendships, trust and beliefs are bound together with a cord of expectations. Its like fishes that look out from eyes at the watery world around them and at the same time receive these minute signals from the water that runs up their lateral line.

Often it feels like an heritage … passed down through the experience of past generations … past the gravestones that bear a proud memory of the valiance and achievements of our ancestry. I sometimes come across individuals representing such an experience and in just a few minutes of conversation feel like my clothes are being attacked by moths.

The promises of the new, tugs at impulses in places we didn't know we had impulses. Like coming into physical proximity with a Ferrari Testarossa and realizing that what we saw in the advert was the error of two-dimensional perceptions. Or catching a show in Las Vegas … watch the surfers in Hawaii … or breaking into an Arabian restaurant for a Lamb Bendi … it stimulates the mind to speak of its delight.

When we do that, we realize that we have strayed from our usual jaunt through the park. We have stepped into another world … and the sensations that we feel assures us that we couldn't possibly have added to the sensation of the experience ourselves. We didn't know what we were supposed to feel!

We find ourselves at these times totally defenseless, carefree and bold, nor anticipating to feel something,. We simply feel. There ought to be another word for it because I'm pretty certain its not the plain passions we shift with gears. The Vatican uses the phrase ' The Holy See ' … well I don't know about that but I think ' The See ' captures the feeling accurately. For it draws us into seeing with our passions, the eyes and the mind that observes with affirmative appreciation as if its an approval we make of our environment and world.

Wouldn't it be strange if we found later that the untrodden path we find new is something from a former experience, of a time of early initiation into the experience of the world when we engaged our minds to wander a little more. A time that we may have spent at ' The See ' viewing our experiences as if to find out such is what we are.

To compare our passion with ' The See ' is like coming home from a game of football and realizing that while we wanted our team to win it was also an incredible match of strategies, players and team spirit. Turns out its like the right hand knowing what the left hand is doing … but may yet be surprised by a left hook if its not bringing the right eye contact with situations. For the path less trodden may contain new surprises but the path well trod will bring new lessons.