Monday, February 6, 2012

Less Traveled By



The Road Not Taken
-Robert Frost

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.


The other day, I was flipping back and forth through my school planner, finishing a project, when I turned to a page of notes written in early August.  I remember being so taken with the words I'd shared them with my coworkers and friends when I welcomed them back...

It says:
The moment of frustration presents us with a tremendous opportunity to contribute.   
We have a choice. We can be negative and defensive or we can choose to ask:
What can I do to make a difference?
How can I support the team?
Making better choices in the moment by asking better questions. 
Sometimes, when we are struggling, we are tempted to stop giving to others.  Our thoughts turn toward ourselves and we do not feel like being a blessing to others; we want someone to comfort us. But when we are hurting, we should behave as we would if we were not hurting.

I treat others the way I wish to be treated.
I do not get to choose when or how often I will treat others the way I wish to be treated.
Why?
Because I wish to be treated with kindness and respect every moment of every day.
Therefore, I must do the same.

And you know what?  It is easier to do something every day than to do it only some days.  When you do something every day, there's no debate, no procrastination, no wondering shall I or shan't I?

It's your routine, your normal, your everyday.  It's yours.

I actively choose to be this person every day.

Who will you choose to be?

Love,
me



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