This time of year especially (but actually most of the time) I like to take back roads where I am going instead of driving on the freeways. It takes a little bit longer but the beauty and calm are worth it for me. This morning as I drove to an appointment in Excelsior I followed favorite back roads soaking in magnificent colors almost all the way there and back home again. I am so fortunate to have the time to take
The Road Less Traveled
As I watch the people I know returning to their pre-pandemic social lives I feel as if I am taking the road less traveled in my life too. I am embracing a new normal, one with far fewer social activities than before the pandemic and far more time for my soul. As an introvert I discovered that slowing down and engaging less in the outside world felt really good. I spend my days appreciating beauty, making photos, reading, and creating (including writing this blog).
I know that my way is not for everyone. Many people thrive on social activities and going places. For me, it helps that I feel that I am surrounded by beauty and nature even when I am at home. Though I’ve seen many seasons turn looking out at the pond, each season brings its own kind of beauty.
When we first moved here and there was a huge basswood tree near the house and a wise old willow tree beside the pond I focused on the beauty of the trees and their leaves through the various seasons. When we lost the basswood tree to a storm and the numerous trunks of the old willow tree fell one by one until it was gone, I learned to see a different kind of beauty in the pond. It is now almost fully visible from our living room windows and I love watching the wildlife in and around the pond.
We now have goldenrod that blooms each fall beside the pond and other wild things like an elderberry bush at the edge of the pond. Nature keeps shaping and changing what I see when I allow it to do its work uninterrupted.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.— Robert Frost
On Golden Pond
This time of year when the tree leaves are turning golden and the sun is in the eastern sky a little after sunrise, the pond often looks like ripples of gold.
No matter how often I see it, I am filled with joy to see it again. The reflections and colors vary at different times of day. They are endlessly changing. Add in the wind rippling the water and occasional visitations by ducks and other water birds and I am endlessly entertained with the pond’s shifting beauty.
How blessed I am!
Soon the leaves will fall and the tree limbs will be bare again — another opportunity to see a different kind of beauty in the pond reflections.
What is bringing you joy today? Is it time for you to take the road less traveled in your life?
May you walk in beauty.
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