Roads-a broad way leading from one place to another

No matter who you are or where you have been, the roads you have ridden brought you to where you are and created the person you have become. When I look back at the journey of life, I have been fortunate to have gone down many different roads to get to the place I am now. Was it a good or lousy journey is up to interpretation.

Sometimes, walking was easy as I moved seamlessly from one place to another, meeting some friendly people, seeing interesting things,  and learning valuable lessons. Other roads are more challenging and initially don’t seem like a perfect place to travel. Still, in the end, when the roads converge and change once again, the lessons I learned on each road are carried with me, and if I am honest with myself, each one has provided a value and substance I would not have chosen to pass on if I could have. Raise your awareness of how your roads have affected you. It all starts with noticing your thoughts about things. The emotions arising from them. The words you speak about your history and the actions you take due to your experience on the roads of life. Our roads are continually changing who we are.

The Easy Road

This is a great road to be on, as it is perfect traveling, not much difficulty, and a lot of folks along the route are more than willing to participate in your journey. As you walk along this easy road, all wanting a part of the trip, wishing to share a memory with you.

There would be no need for growth if we could stay on this road our whole lives. Everything would come to us with minimal effort, and some have been blessed to travel just this path. (Although I haven’t met one) I imagine it must be quite a pleasant trip. Enjoy the times when you are on this road because they may be memories that help light your way when you come to a road that is not so nice. And at some point, the road will not be pleasant.

The Lonely Road

You will find yourself on this tricky road at some point in your life. Nobody knows how they get onto it; they only notice that they are there and wonder where everyone else has gone. All those “friends” and followers from the easy road are long gone and nowhere to be found.

There can be others traveling this road simultaneously, but it won’t matter to you. No company will make you feel better if you are on a lonely road, and people around you try to lend support and comfort to your journey. It won’t matter because the lonely road is meant to be traveled alone or have another name.

Perhaps the people you meet don’t understand your journey or want something from you that you don’t have to give. You do not have to be afraid and experience despair because the secret of the lonely road is that you can leave its path and onto a much more enjoyable journey as soon as you decide to. Regrets about the past and a fear of the future keep you traveling this path. No amount of worry or guilt will make you feel better.

Loneliness is, unfortunately, a result of our choices in life, and once we are done punishing ourselves for these unfortunate incidences, we can move on to better things. But there is no easy way to do this. Only one person you know can help, and they want nothing to do with you. It is painful. Some people will choose to travel this road for the rest of their lives.

The Expected Road

As we start, we have a path in our minds where our lives will most often take us. To school, to work, to a family, to riches, fame, fortune, and whatever we have expected to find.

As you start the road of expectation, it will appear like you are headed just where you want to go. However, life doesn’t usually like to supply us with direct routes to our destinations. There is always something we should see and an experience we have to deal with, a loss that comes unexpectedly.

It is effortless to get detoured off this road, and you don’t even realize that it happened until you are miles down some new highway you don’t want to be on. These detours are usually OK because you can return to the expected road with a little effort if you want to. Remember, you will have many exciting experiences along the way. Sometimes they are so interesting that you never want to return, but most often, you end up back on the expected road but don’t worry. Before you know it, there will be another detour—another adventure to add spice to your life.

The Road of Judgment

After traveling down the road for a while, you will start to think that you know everything about traveling, and you will inevitably feel that you must tell others how to travel, what to see, and the safest path from one place to another.

You will look at their path and want to warn them of potential danger on the road ahead. It is great to look out for your fellow man, but too often, we overstep our bounds as travelers and judge people because of the roads they have traveled in the past.

Everyone at some point finds the road difficult and travels to places they know they probably shouldn’t, but the judgment of others is only a judgment of our poor decisions. If you look carefully at the criticism that you place on others, it is always a reflection of some part of ourselves that we don’t like so much.

So when you travel down the road of judgment, we often judge someone else’s journey so that people might not pay attention to all of the paths we have walked in our lifetimes. This is never a good path, and enjoying this road is impossible. It makes you wonder why so many travel the road of judgment for a long time? I avoid this one.

The Dark Road

We all want to avoid this road, but we all travel to one degree or another.

There are times in life when it seems there is no direction, you aren’t sure where the road is going, and you can’t see the other side of this road. You can try to run and get down the road quickly, but that often leads to falling off the road into a ditch, which will inevitably force you to stay on the road longer.

There aren’t many people who will travel down the dark road with you because the potential dangers are everywhere, and it doesn’t look like a lot of fun, and it is not. Often you don’t want anyone to go with you because it is your road, and asking seems a bit selfish no matter how much you would like the company.

So you trudge on down this dangerous, dark path into the unknown. The good news is that there will be people willing to resume the journey with you once you pass the dark road, and the strength you develop inside you will be yours for the rest of your trip, regardless of your path. Anyone willing to travel the dark road with you should be cherished. They are not fair-weather friends but must genuinely care about you and you’re well-being. These are the people you keep in your life.

Once you survive this, what road could scare or intimidate you? The lessons learned on the dark highway are complex, but much like a blade is made sharp by the grindstone’s friction, so is your character built here. Be prepared for this path, but don’t fear it. Survive it, learn the valuable lessons it offers, and carry them into the light. The light will be much more enjoyable in contrast to this journey. Enjoy those days.

The Final Road

It is impossible to describe all the roads you will travel down because we will find different routes on our journeys, but two things are definite and are the same for every human being on the face of the Earth. Our trips start at the same place as birth, and the road will end at the same place as death.

Although this road is inevitable, we all want to put this journey off as long as we possibly can, and with good reason, we are afraid. Some people are more fearful than others, but all of us, to some degree, fear death greatly because it is impossible to know what is coming next on this trip.

Is this the end? Is it just the beginning? Nobody can solve this mystery for you. Many look to religion for comfort at the end of the journey. Others ignore this inevitable destination, like the elephant in the room, pay no attention to it, and deal with it when it becomes a problem.

We all picture this road coming far down the line, but we never know for sure. The best thing you can do is enjoy the roads you are traveling down today as much as possible and love life and the people you meet. The final road will take care of itself, and it always has.

The Journey

There are many roads that life will lead you down, some you will like, some you will not like at all, but in the end, all of these roads make up for the experience of whom you are and why you think and feel like you do. It would be nice if we were born with all we needed to change.

You are the only one in history who has had the same experience that your roads have shown you. The only thing you can do, as I see it, is enjoying the trip. Your lessons always come from the journey, not the destination. Face your lessons with a focus on being aware of your thoughts, words, and actions today.

An old road always looks richer and more beautiful than a new road because old roads have memories!” Mehmet Murat ildan

“The road before us is shorter than the road behind.” Lucy Stone