Have you ever walked or driven past a country road and found yourself wondering where it leads? I have but, where I live, I have actually gone down most of those roads. Many of my friends live down some of them. They reside at the end of long, winding driveways that must be maneuvered before reaching their houses. All the roads, lanes, and driveways where I go are not paved. But the ones I travel all lead to marvelous destinations.
But when traveling to new places, sometimes I see a road and something about it just catches my eye and sparks my imagination. I wonder where it would lead and soon my mind is wandering, creating different scenarios. A pretty little white clapboard house with the proverbial picket fence wherein resides the prefect family of mother, father, son, and daughter. Everyone is smiling and always gets along. Or the feeling I get from the surroundings might conjure up visions of a ramshackle old house with holes in the roof, junk cars in the yard, and hopeless inhabitants. Sometimes it feels like a castle-like abode must be just around the bend, hidden by the trees. Or a lake house. Or a log cabin. In reality, I’m sure none of my imaginings are accurate. But it is fun to contemplate.
When I was in the flower industry, I actually delivered bouquets sometimes, because I loved seeing the look of surprise on peoples’ faces when they received an unexpected floral gift. But I have driven down some roads that were hardly able to be called roads. Roads that had potholes big enough to gobble up my delivery vehicle. It was like an obstacle course just to dodge all the impediments. And it made for slow going! Moving around a fallen tree branch, trying to miss a hole in the road, dodging large rocks dislodged by the road grader in an attempt to smooth out and fill said holes! Sometimes those roads did not surprise me. They lead to the little shack that many people would have expected to be down such a way. However, there have been times when, after having traversed a horrible stretch of road, I came to a gated drive, had to request entry, and was admitted to an estate situated in the middle of nowhere!
Life surprises us. Sometimes we are just tooling along this road called life, dodging the potholes, enjoying the scenery, headed where we think we are supposed to be going. Then suddenly, we fall into one of those holes that we didn’t see coming or, perhaps, saw but could not outmaneuver because we could not change or slow our trajectory soon enough. Sometimes it takes a long time to drag ourselves out of those places that we become mired in. Some people never get out. Others realize it was a wake-up call to change course. That they had, in actuality, been headed down the wrong road but had either chosen to ignore it or had not yet recognized that fact.
In the course of my life, I have been forced to change my direction several times. Sometimes, it was obvious what had to be done and was not too difficult to do, so I shifted gears willingly. But other times, I have made the change obstinately, kicking and screaming because it was not in my plan. It was not on the road I had chosen. Rather, one that had been chosen for me. And I have discovered that, even when the bad seems to permeate everything, good can come from it. I have chosen to be positive because I have discovered that, for me, that is my only choice. It is the one thing I can always control.
So, when you find yourself glancing down that old road, wondering where it leads, be brave and take a chance. You can always turn around if you don’t like what you discover. If you keep your compass (both moral and actual) clean and in good working order, you might find that pleasant surprises await you around the corner.
Be positive. Be brave. Embrace life. Go exploring!
I wrote about another adventure about travel and unexpected things. You might like to read it here.
https://bgibsonbooks.com/a-drive-through-the-country/
