I have more to say about my physical recovery eventually, for now I am progressing slowly and thankful to be on the mend. I'm also tremendously grateful for the outpouring of support from family and friends, be they online or 3-D. Those of you who have prayed, left comments, sent emails or even small gifts have been such a wonderful encouragement. In the meantime, it's been a time of strange thoughts and processing things in new ways since I've been through a bit of an upheaval. Just to keep you busy, here's a thought I had today.
Anyone who has gotten through an American Literature class will have read Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken. It's a wonderful poem in so many ways.
I wonder though, what if we who have typically been trailblazers, taking the hard road and leaving our mark wherever we go, what happens if we one day chose to turn around, return to the fork and quietly, mindfully, respectfully walk the road others have paved? What if we chose to learn from them after so many of our own lonely labors in the wilderness?
So I invite you to share your travels on paved or rocky roads, your lessons, your thoughts. Give me something to mull over on this concept as I continue to rest and recover.
18 comments:
Oh good grief.
I have no idea where to start.
Maybe I will just to read Frost.
Seriously, I have learned as much in the last 11 years listening to others (and my inner voice) than I ever learned before that.
It was about learning to change instead of learning to make adjustments... IYKWIM
I need to reread that poem as well. I'm still not ready to spend my time on the path others have paved. Glad you're doing well with your recovery.
I tend to think most of our paths are not chosen by us, but by circumstances beyond our control.
Personally the hard road gives a greater challenge and reward, but those you love must make the sacrifices in time and energy so that you can make the journey. It is not a simple choice.
What if we chose to learn from them after so many of our own lonely labors in the wilderness?
Don't think it is possible for most. Human nature, both the good and bad parts, tends to push us down uncharted roads.
I am sure that you know oh so much more than I. But, when you asked that, the first thing that came into my head was to tell you to be sure and tell your family of ANY and ALL side effects from your treatment. Don't hold out anything...not for your benefit or theirs. My dad did (his feet were numb from Paclitaxil) and he ended up falling and breaking his hip. So to everyone who is undergoing chemo or treatment of any kind for cancer, let you family help you through it....don't try to go it alone and bear all the burden. Let them bear some of the load for you. Ask for help. Don't try to be a super hero.
That's what came into my mind....so just in case you are trying too hard not to burden your family, go ahead and ask for that help. There will come a day they will need your help, too...and you need to still be around to give it. Hugs. Take care of yourself.
Your being "on the mend" makes my heart happy. I am glad to read that, lime.
I feel that life experiences of others are invaluable. Learning from what others have gone through (good or bad) is what helps us grow...mentally and physically, I think. Just my thought, but you asked for thoughts to mull over. :)
I continue to ask God's blessings on you and yours as your mending continues as well. Take the best care of you, and please know that you are being thought of...
Love,
Jackie
The older I get the more I think our life lessons will find us whether we zig or we zag.
In the end I don't think the road matters as much as the person who travels it.
If you aren't happy on the paved road & think you would be happy on the road less travelled, you probably wouldn't be. And vice versa.
Old Bob Frost wrote a great poem but he could have been equally speculative about the other road no matter which one he took.
The "you" in my last comment is the global "you" not the you you...you know what I mean?
Ps...very glad you are healing! Stay strong.
My blog post today about the creative process might be apt. Simply because I see life as a creative process.
I learned one day that you should actually take a road...
The true trailblazer would take the route where there is no road because even the other road was taken by somebody or how else would there be a road in the first place.
Anyway, there was this undeveloped forest standing between my work building and the headquarters I worked at. I decided to walk through it one day. It's a lot tougher than you can imagine. I came out full of vegetation, scraped, cut, sweaty.
Yes, I'll take a road next time...
Odd roads I've taken. . .
Throwing my life in with a group of radical Christians, back in my college days, until the present day. . .
Raising eight children with my wife. . .
Searching for, and meeting my birth parents. . .
Along with a few that I've been sent on without seeking them, like grandchildren born to unmarried daughters. . .
I have learned and grown and been enriched by every single one of them. . .
Thanks for this. . .
No matter what road you take it always turns out to be the right one. I just think everything happens for a reason. We all do our best. Try to make good decisions and then deal with whatever circumstance comes up on the road. Hopefully we learn from our mistakes, others mistakes, and don't keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Hopefully we become wiser as time goes on. Figure out what truly matters and then choose our course with that in mind.
I am so happy to hear you have support throughout your recovery. You continue to be in my prayers.
can't be done. you can take a respite on the side of the road (not taken), but it's not in your nature to turn around and take the easy way - same for anyone traveling the unpaved trail...
from time to time i wonder what life would have been like had i not had cancer and been able to have children ...
Specific to your situation: Let people take care of you. Don't be the strong one, even though you are used to that role. I was stupid in my recovery, and tried to act as if it was just a minor inconvenience. Within a week, I was trying to shovel snow (and bleeding, as a consequence). Foolish. If there is a next time, I will elevate laziness to an art form.
I am glad that you are on the mend. Yikes! I have been gone and did not know about this, except to see your throat scar and wonder what that was about. So double yikes!
I like what you say... about going back purposely and walking and learning from others. Very much.
I also like the idea of walking with someone and sharing the learning together. Big hugs, dear lime!
I've often found myself to be the sort who comes to a fork in the road and who decides to go off-road entirely, just seeing what everyone else has missed. Occasionally, I end up over a cliff. Sometimes, I explore a little bit and then get back on the road. On rare and wonderful times, I start a new path and then tell those I love where to find it and what extraordinary things they'll encounter. Once, I was eaten by a bear, but I got better.
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