When You Come To a Crossroads

I like how this feature photo is blurry, because isn’t that how it always feels when you are trying to take a turn in life? It is not always clear which direction to go. How do we know what is the best thing for ourselves? The goal is the same for everybody really, to make the right choice. The last thing we want to do in life is backtrack. Making wrong decisions can make us feel bad about ourselves. Standing at a crossroads presents the ability to make a choice. Roll the dice. See where it takes you. That can be an exciting time. The thrill of the new and different. What could come of a new beginning? The thought of making a change to reach the best result sure is tempting. The anticipation sometimes is even more fun than the results.

What happens when you aren’t presented with that crossroad? Or not much of a road at all?

Life can take hard turns without our permission. You can be on the same track, doing the same thing, running the same marathon and then BAM! It hits you like a ton of bricks. Life takes that turn. There were no warnings. No street signs saying go this way. It just plummets you into a new world. The rough road. Rocky, but not the fun kind. Is it possible that that turn could have been avoided? How would you even see the signs? Especially if the signs aren’t even there.

So, what about when you didn’t plan to take that turn? You aren’t even sure how you got to that particular road.

There are times when you think your life is going the same, that you are on the same track, on the same road. You may even being trying to keep it the same. It could be because things are working out well. Maybe you find yourself in a happier place than you were before. It makes you want to hold onto these feelings. Savoir in it, perhaps! Roll around and lay in it even!! You definitely don’t want anything to change. It feels like everything you have been waiting for. You aren’t looking for a crossroads or any road for that matter at this point. All roads definitely led here, and you are so glad!

Then there’s all the other roads. How about the attractive road less traveled? Don’t we love this one!

Why is this one so attractive? The road that you are the first to take can often take you to very different places. It might feel nice to be out there experiencing something that nobody can relate to. There is nobody to consult with on the matter, either. You are on your own here. It can feel good feeling that you are on your own. It gives us a purpose. The road less traveled also has less rules. There is no right or wrong. No book written on how to navigate. It can be empowering to take. It can also just be something to make unique memories. Either way, we like this road, but it often is short lived.

How about that dreaded road to nowhere! Ever been down this one? We hope not, but some have.

This is the road that appears to be a certain way, but it never is. The road you get to the end and that is it. All it does is end. There’s no outlet, no pretty scenery, no alternative paths or less traveled ones either. You wonder why you are even on this road. You wonder how you got here. You can’t even remember making the decision to get there. However, you made it. You got there without help and all on your own. All you can remember is it seemed to possess some positive attributes. There were reasons it seemed like the right way to go. Maybe just taking that turn was all you thought you needed to do. Could be you felt you had no choice. Maybe you didn’t think at all. This is the road we need that crossroads to present itself to us. Where is that turn?

What we love the most is the road with all the signs pointing us in the right direction!

When the entire universe has come together and said this is it! That is the road to take. Birds are signing, trees are waving, the sky is blue and you are there! You know you should be there. It just feels right being there. You want to stay on this one. Everyone you know is doing a little dance along the way, too. It can’t get better than this road! You made it. Big feelings of relief set in. You can sit back and soak it up. The sun it warm and it all feels good. There is no need to turn back, look around or do anything. You can finally take a deep breath and think yea, I can stay here a while.

What if there is no road presented to us? This we call The No Road Road.

Sometimes there is no obvious road to take. The roads traveled and less traveled seem to be nowhere in sight. There are no cheerleaders or birds singing. Grey skies are all you see here. You may feel like you are desperately looking for the crossroads. Where did it go? It could feel like it is time for it to show face. Naturally, it should. It always did before. It could feel like you are stuck in a series of cul-de-sacs where all the roads dead-end. You may feel like there is no way out. These roads can be very discouraging and can leave you pondering. They don’t seem to offer much hope.

So, is it possible to carve out your own road?

Maybe there should be a road there, even when there isn’t. If you think you should, maybe you need to. Just because this road doesn’t exist, or that path isn’t clear, doesn’t mean it’s not there. It may look very difficult. It may even feel impossible. If you look into your heart of hearts it is possible it might just feel right. You can’t ignore that feeling. Even if everything you were ever taught or learned points the other way, it still may be right.

Sometimes we can feel like our intuition is broken. Is it even a possibility, you may ask yourself. It could feel like you are shaking it all up. Your fate, your destiny or anything you thought you were headed towards may start to feel unclear. Following that easy path was so natural before. It is hard to even anticipate. The end result could be anything. Fear could set in. How do you even begin? Could the path you need to take be right in front of you, but you just can’t see it?

We can’t forget those other roads. Ever been down The Road of No Choice? This could also easily be called The Wild Ride!

These are the ones where you are moving fast towards one direction. Life basically plummets you into it and you just go. Like a cannon ball! Roll with this one, you may tell yourself. It could be a fun ride. You may even just get launched out the other side. On this road, you don’t know what hit you. It is possible that you don’t even care where you land! The wild ride is full of excitement. You just hold on. These roads come fewer and farther in-between, but how much fun they can be.

What about the roads you assume are one thing then turn out the complete opposite! The Road You Assume can cross your path.

Often we make assumptions about how things are. Looks can be deceiving. It could be our preconditioning that tells us to stop. Beware! Danger! All the red flags come out. This is dangerous and we should not be here. Or, it could simply be the fear of the unknown. You really just want to turn around at this point. All the signs are pointing to one thing. That one thing cannot be good. But, isn’t that all just in our perspective? Maybe our lack of knowledge. Perhaps that odd man on the side of the road is also running a non-profit. Maybe that other strange person crossing the road slowly is the pastor of the small town church. The run down house that is empty could be about to be renovated for a new family. What appears to be one thing, may not be the case at all. Often we are preconditioned to assume something is true, when in fact it isn’t true at all. Turns out it’s all the opposite of what you thought. It could actually be a wonderful road to take after all if you give it a chance.

Then, there are the roads we don’t even know how we got there but are so happy we did.

Those roads are simply full of beauty. We chose this road because we knew it was that great. So worth the trip! Or, even better, we stumbled upon it by accident. Aren’t those the best? When we don’t even know how we got there? These are so worth traveling. Break out the camera! These are the paths we want to remember. Blue skies and green pastures. Flowers by the road. A turtle stops traffic here. We all want to stop and soak it all up. Wishing all the roads are just like this one. We want to share these roads with everyone we meet. These roads fill your soul.

However, we can’t ignore the the Rest of All the Roads.

Regardless of why the road is presented to us in life we often take different roads. Some will work out well. Some will be temporary. Some will be dead-ends. Some will be oh-so-much fun! Unfortunately, there will be some that we don’t ever want to repeat. We really don’t even want to remember them. But, without the ugly ones, there are no pretty ones. Without the yin, there is no yang. Without the grey skies there are no blue. Without the option to make the mistake, we cannot make the right choice. We may feel the need for the crossroads to come and to take us somewhere. The easy way to go. That may not always be the case. We do, however, need to keep going down a road. Keep moving forward. Often we find comfort in these all the rest of the road kinda roads. They are the safer routes. We can stay on these a while, no doubt.

Every now and then the roads are blurry, foggy, and unclear.

What do we do when the road doesn’t present itself to you well? When the road is unclear, foggy and dark. Not a pretty road, or an ugly road available. Maybe not any road at all, it appears. Do we revisit old roads? That can occasionally give us perspective. Do we really want to go there again? Is it even the same? The question is do we really need to. The good news is they are not the same. If they were beautiful then, they may be torn up now. If they were torn up then, they could be repaved and perfect now. They may look the same, but time has changed them. It doesn’t matter either way, they are not the same road. Revisiting them doesn’t do much good.

The list goes on and on with all of the roads that can cross your path. What do we do when there is no available road in sight? Can we create your own road? Carve out own path? Can we break our own ground? You may wonder why there isn’t a clear road in sight. Maybe it’s because you aren’t looking for it. It could also be that it isn’t the right time. It doesn’t matter the reason. Do not waste your time trying to figure it out. What can we do when we feel like there is no clear way to go? So, you may just have to rattle the universe. You might have to shake it up a little bit. What was easy before may be a tad bit harder now. You may have to really push yourself. However, when you reach the other side, and you will, you will see what you were missing. You’ll know why you did it. All the hard work will pay off. You will begin to understand. It will all make sense why you were there in the first place. It will all start to become clear.

No matter what you do, where you are now will soon become that road you revisit later

Finding the courage is all you have to do to carve your own path. Allow yourself to trust yourself. This will give you the strength you need. You will be surprised how strong you can be. You may even shock yourself. Allow yourself to be your own guide. If you believe in a higher power, look to this too. Maybe you aren’t really alone in this trip. The road could still feel unclear. It may be really rocky and difficult to navigate. But, if you believe in yourself and trust the process this road will lead you to where you need to be. Don’t worry about what is waiting for you. You may wonder what is on the other side of that hill. It doesn’t matter. It is there, and that is it. It is waiting for you. It was waiting for you the whole time.

~Thank you for reading. If you feel lost, or know someone who is, please share. Sometimes we just need a new perspective in life.

We will be also adding more garden related posts in the near future, as there are so many things we have learned and cannot wait to share from our experience. It is also amazing how life and gardening can go hand in hand! Please visit our featured products in our Rainy Day Deals section by clicking the button below. We update these products we love weekly. Seasonal finds and things we love!