...And I Took the Road Less Traveled...

When I was applying to colleges--back when I was sixteen years old...I was asked to submit a piece of writing to Georgetown University.  I chose to write about the Robert Frost poem, The Road Less Traveled.  It resonated with me in my adolescent years, and it speaks to me now.  A few years ago I was taking a writing class, and we were asked to memorize a poem and recite it to the group.  I chose this very poem thirty seven years later.  Maya Angelou would say that is the power of poetry.

How many times do we come to a "fork in the road" and choose the well worn path?  It seems obvious that we should.  It seems like it would make sense and be easier.  Others have stood in the very same spot and chose that path.  And yet, by choosing the other path, we open ourselves up to possibilities that we never imagined possible.  It takes more effort to blaze a new trail.  It requires more of your brain and body.  But then it does more for your brain and body.  It actually fires up the brain and creates new connections, i.e. neural pathways.  The brain has a neuroplasticity just as the physical body has a flexibility. 

This is part of what it takes to be a healthy person in body and mind.  The body and mind work together.  They reinforce each other in an anti-aging, protective way.  This is why my gym boasts that they never offer the same workout twice.  They want the body (and mind) to be surprised.  They want to recruit new muscle fibers and challenge the body to be more efficient.  

No matter where you are in your health and wellness journey, looking at life with fresh eyes, building new habits and thereby weakening old unhelpful habits is a challenge right before our very eyes.  Which path do you choose?  Let the path you choose make all the difference.