The Unusual Way

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. -poem, “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” — Steve Jobs, 1997

If you chose to risk. Or live an artistic life. Or devote yourself to loving and serving others, for better or worse, you’ve chosen the unusual way.

You. Chose. It.

Therefore, embrace your unusual choice! And stop looking to the world for the usual way.

For the usual reward. 

For the usual validation.

For the usual praise.

For the usual success.

For the usual status. 

For the usual wealth.

For the usual power.

For the usual guidance of how to think and do and be.

Seek out and cultivate the Unusual. Find the others.  

You picked the unusual way. 

How long can and will you stay on it? Do you have the guts to follow it through to the end?  Especially when there is no usual end in sight?

P.S. – This haunting Frost recitation. This iconic commercial.

P.P.S. – “It’s Not Unusual” to listen to this song and immediately be in a good mood.