Hugo-Gerbers Hütte to Feldener Hütte
Robert Frost put pen to paper and configured a poem about a traveller. This work is titled “the Road Not Taken” and it begins thus…
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
In it these two roads diverge in a wood, both just as fair with leaves not yet trodden black. The narrator’s choice to take the road less travelled represents the different decisions we sometimes make. It is a poem that has largely inspired readers to take it up as an anthem for nonconformity and individualism in a world seemingly shaped for the opposite, the kow-towed conglomerate trooping through en masse. But was it Frost’s intention to encourage divergence?
Cycling through St. Stefan in Gailtal, Austria
As a painting’s conservator, I’ve faced many bends in the undergrowth, both on canvas and in reality. Making decisions about which grass-topped, worn route to take comes part and parcel with what I do. Always shifting from one place to another, mine is a precarious voyage that demands I keep a light foot on the ground; to embrace the illusion of a job that ranks in the category of “high demand”, yet in my wake drag financial instability and reckless adventure, short friendships and little time for deep romance.
Condition check for large oil work, Kasteel Borgharen in Maastricht, Netherlands
Truth and genuine desire require tethering to some stable dock – for bearing, enduring, and triumphing builds faith and trust and commitment. Would you agree that without these three elements one can’t develop love for somewhere or, indeed, something, someone? One short-term placement to the next develops a restlessly free-spirited existence that – although I’ve come to cherish on occasion – can be quite lonely.
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 travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
One’s choice upon which path wants for passing makes all the difference to the narrator in Frosts poem. The feeling we get from Frost’s final stanza echoes in the words of Sheena Iyengar. Her research and its implications focus on the broader societal and psychological aspects of choice.
For those who have not yet seen it, this TED video encourages us to think about why people make decisions in the first place. The complexities of choice, its potential benefits and drawbacks, and how it relates to various aspects of life, from consumer decisions to personal autonomy and happiness... If choice affects you, then you should be the one to make it – but does everyone benefit from being true to oneself? Should choice be a self-defining act?
Iyengar’s words “choice is not a marker of liberation but of suffocation by meaningless minutiae” struck a chord with me. Just as “The Road Not Taken”, rather than imploring readers to deviate, fixates on justifying the choice of the road that was – in the end – taken. This irony might help us see the subjectivity or even delusional facets of decision-making.
I’m interested to hear your thoughts if you would like to share them.
Wandering down from Arthurs Seat, Edinburgh
This line - "Just as “The Road Not Taken”, rather than imploring readers to deviate, fixates on justifying the choice of the road that was – in the end – taken. "
Wow!!! I don't know if it is cause I am in a reflective season or if that sentence you have penned is that powerful --- but it has sucker punched me.
This is one of my favourite pieces and have read it wistfully many a times, ruing over the fact that I have often taken the well trodden part. Your query in this article makes me rethink on those milestones, wondering if it was lack of bravery/initiative on my end which made me not take the less trodden part, or just a fatigue of having to explain the choice to all who would not understand it, especially when one just had a gut feel about the possibilities.
This was a very good take. Thank you for writing it.
I'm thrilled to hear my writing sucker punches anyone, haha! What a rich comment, thank you so very much for sharing your thoughts. This season is a reflective one, I agree - but what a compliment... if my ramblings encouraged you to reconsider your milestones then my post was worth it. Reflecting is good fun... I sometimes think that the point of writing is sharing moments like these with others.
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Hi. I keep an eye out for Brits and noticed you are in Edinburgh, a city I know quite well. You may want to do an introduction post so that people have some idea of who you are. You can give away as much/little as you want.
Have fun.
Indeed, I'm in Edinburgh - it's such a beautiful city, isn't it? I'd be happy to write an introduction. Thanks for suggesting!
Cool. I hope the weather is okay up there.