The Ruts of the Roads Not Taken

What could have been... What might of have been… We can tell these tales all day and night. Until the moon comes round a hundred times, and the sun comes up an thousand morns. The mistakes of the past haunt us to this day. “Had I not been the a*****e I told myself I never was…”  “Had I thought with the right part of my body…”  “Had I any idea of what things could grow to be….” To take lonely nights and dwell on the mistakes we made along the way. Perhaps a single change of words… or to have stolen that kiss while it was still desired…. These are the nightmares that keep us awake as we try to move on into the next day that we swear to ourselves will be different but we still doubt, as tomorrow holds no chance for change as the wheels are stuck spinning in this rut from the road we feel we never should have taken. 

However we must look around as the sun rises on this new day where we fear no progress, we see the allies with their ropes and chains, suvs, and pickup trucks, trying to pull the little town car out of the pit we found as we tried to turn around. As we examine the faces we realize just how many were met along this road that led to the mud of our current dilemma. We realize had we never taken this path, we would never have had all this help to pull ourselves from the deep rut. For on another path, while this particular rut may not have been found, there would be others. As we look at the strained faces and hands on rope and make eye contact we get a friendly smile through the sweaty brow.

If we could undo this journey it would be a selfish action. To remove ourselves from all the lives we have touched on this path, these people who care so much to pull and tug and sweat to get us to a better place. How cruel it would be to disappear and just never reach this place to begin with, at only the hope that a rut so deep and difficult or of this particular degree would not be waiting on the path not taken. These people may not have achieved our freedom yet, but they will continue to pull until we are out. We need to stop sitting in grass feeling sorry for and angry at ourselves and grab the rope and start pulling.