The Crossroads

The crossroad: we have all been there.  You know, that point in your life where you must make that big decision, choose change, decide your fate.  Or maybe you haven’t arrived at your crossroad yet, but you will.  Imagination is a funny thing as an adult.  Instead of imagining fairies and princes, we fantasize about alternate lives.  I wonder what life would be like if _______.  You fill in the blank, I know you can, we all do this.  The problem is that we are so fearful of the new.  As children, we do not have this problem, new activities, new hobbies, new sports, new friends.  We believe that children need this to grow and to learn.  As adults, we fear the very things we are encouraging from our children.  But what if we didn’t.  What if the new job, the new house, the ridding of someone we no longer feel belongs there, the dream we haven’t got the courage to go for, or even just the decision to live life more positively, what if all of that became the key to a happier life.  What if we stopped wondering what life would be like if______ and we actually just made it happen.

Often, we believe all the wrong things.  We believe we will fail when we try new things or if we choose to make changes.  We believe it isn’t right or it isn’t meant for us or we worry about what others will think or that we may fall short.  There is one thing we so often forget to believe in: OURSELVES!  Give yourself a little credit, because you got yourself this far.  And the truth is, we cannot fail if we never try.  Failure is a tool.  But we never use it properly.  You fall off the horse, you get back on it.

I lived for quite some time with the anxiety of never feeling like I was “contributing” to the world.  Like I owed it something.  The only person I actually owed anything to was MYSELF.  It took me a long time to figure this out.  I cared for far too long about what other people would think if I said writing makes me happy.  This is a big part of my happiness.  And if I want to write, I will.  And so, do what you want to do, or at least, try it.  Take that imagination, and make it your day to day.  Fit it into your routine.  Make the change.  If you stand too far from the shore, afraid of the waves, you will never learn to appreciate the view.  Don’t always play it safe.  And when you do find yourself standing in the crossroads, contemplating, believe in yourself.  It worked for me.

This road is travelled often.

The walkers, never the same.

They find the missing pieces

in one another’s name.

And maybe you have questioned

your reasons for standing still

as you stand there in a crossroad

dancing in your own free will.

But somewhere in the distance

beyond frustration and fear

may be the very thing you seek,

but you can’t see that from here.

You probably know the answer

but you wait for the clock to sound,

except you can’t keep playing hostage

with hands that aren’t bound.

It’s easy in the shadows

where you continue to hide.

But if you take the chance

you will love the view from the other side.