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 marked 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,
This poem can mean a lot of different things to different people. Personally, I like to think that this poem, most especially the last three lines, is my philosophy on travelling.
Travelling to different places, travelling through life, travelling to get from your house to your university, basically just getting from one point to the next. So what happens to your life along the line that is created as you get to your destination?
This may seem too radically contemplative judging by the fact that you're just taking a jeepney to get to UST, or riding the train to get to a station that is only 4 stops away. No matter how short the ride is, no matter where you are, when you traverse from one point to another, you TRAVEL. But really. What does it mean to actually DO so? Do you catch my drift? I think not, so allow me to explain further.
When people hear this word, they think: airplanes, hotels, Paris, Rome, some exotic location, tons of cash, luggage. Travelling doesn't always mean going someplace far to explore tourist destinations, immerse in a different culture or what not. It means going some place, ANY place, and leaving your comfort zone and through that journey, you are somehow changed.
Commuting is a routine. You leave the comfort of your home but you find yourself along a route that is familiar. Allow yourself to immerse in things that you always see but have never really felt with every fiber of your being.
Do not just look at people as they are; read their faces and the emotion they express. Do not just plug earphones into your ears to shut out the noise outside. Take your cue from August Rush and make music from the many sounds you hear. Do not just complain about the pollution that you smell, the smoke, all the garbage everywhere. Recognize this as a problem that needs to be solved and then take action.
Ask yourself: What happens along that line that you traverse? Are you actually travelling or are you merely a cattle mooing like the rest? A fish swimming along everyday in the same school?
Allow yourself to travel and immerse in the sights and sounds of everything you see. Allow yourself to get lost every once in a while. Allow yourself to appreciate the simpler things in life. Put on rose-tainted glasses every once in a while. Stop and smell the hustle. Live like a poet who is able to create a sonnet for the birds, the traffic and all the car honking madness all around.
So many people talk about travelling and getting lost in another city to find themselves. But really, do they know what they're looking for? Will they ever really know who they're looking for if they won't start looking within themselves?
It's all about a different perspective. Go on and put on the rose-tainted glasses no matter how crazy it feels or how insane you look. Because that is what travelling is all about--leaving your comfort zone in the hope of arriving at your destination a renewed person.
Travelling is an education--you can learn all thoughout your journey if you let yourself. You learn more about yourself if you let go of the things that are familiar. Take the road less travelled (approach with caution of course, you can't always fly by the seat of your pants, you know).
Take the road less travelled and experience the difference first hand.
Now let's get lost, shall we? Also, Paris is always a good idea.
