Crossroads
You are standing at a crossroads. Four roads intersect at this point. First is the one you are on. You cannot turn back. You may look back, but never turn back. The second is a two-lane paved road. This is the road people seem to take all the time and think nothing of looking around to the sides. The third is a gravel road, which people turn down only once in a while. You have been down that road a number of times and know what is there. The last road really isn’t one at all. The other three are roads that can be traveled by car, bike, walking, anything of that sort. There is only one way down this last path, and that is to walk.
You see a young man standing there, trimming along the path. He looks up from his work and smiles. He says, “I am trimming along here for those who choose to walk it. This path is always changing. Each person has an effect on it, some more than others. I trim it often but few even stop long enough to notice it’s here.” He goes back to his work. You sit down on the side of the road and watch him for a while. After a while he looks up. “You have sat here longer than any other person,” he tells you.
“What is down that path?” you ask politely. “What is down that path is not mine to reveal. A few have walked to the bend but have seen nothing.” He answers simply and softly and then continues calmly with his work.
You stand up and look at the other roads. Which road to choose? You turn to the young man again. He looks back at you. He stops his work and stands up straight. After looking at you for a while he says, “Do not go down the gravel road, for it is filled with pain. I have seen people leave it. Those other roads are meant for many. This path is meant for one. The choice of which to take is yours and yours alone. I give no advice, for I cannot choose for you.”
With that he looks down and finishes his work. Then the young man turns to you with a look in his eye, the look of a person who has seen much. He utters his final words, “I have seen many people go by on these roads. Many don’t know I exist; others don’t think I notice them. I see more than any realize, even myself. I thank you for the company, but now things are changing again. I have stayed as long as I can. You may follow or you may stay. The choice is yours alone.”
With that he is silent and says no more. He turns and walks down the path. He rounds the bend and disappears. As you look around at the roads you hear the young man’s voice. It is whispering to you. “Once you choose to turn from this path it will never be yours again.” You look around but the young man is nowhere to be found.
Which road will you choose? Which road is the right road? The man may be wrong, and the gravel road may be full of joy and happiness – after all, what does he know? The highway seems to be the way everyone else is going. And then there is that little path, too. Hmmm. Tough decision. It is your decision. Which will you take?
Apply this to your life. You can see it come into play whenever you notice yourself at a crossroads. What each road means is up to you. Someone can talk to you till the end of the world about which road you should take, but in the end the decision is yours and no one else’s. What are you going to do?
Chris Schwartzhoff