Walking The Line

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about this concept of “the path less traveled” in one’s life. I get a lot of comments about how I’m living a less traditional existence….about how I’m living a crazy life…about how people are jealous of the existence I’ve chosen for myself….blah blah blah.

And I know it all looks wonderful and glamorous from the outside. And it kind of is – I’m not going to lie. But with anything in this world, it comes at the cost of something. It’s hard. Really really hard. It’s truly not easy. When you decide to step off that path that everyone else is on…that simple trajectory of school –> job –> corporate ladder –> house –> baby –> ETC – things get muddled. They are muddled because you are essentially bushwhacking on a tight rope. There’s no clear path, and walking that fine line is really freaking scary, because it’s easy to fall, and there’s no safety net.

Now, this is not to say that it’s not worth it. For me, it totally is. But the point I’m trying to make is that there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye. There are days when you are on that tightrope and you make some amazing progress and feel like you’re on top of the world…and there are other days where you don’t move at all and feel incredibly defeated. And then there are other days where you fall right off and have to pick yourself back up and climb back onto the tightrope. Somedays, I just want to get off the tightrope all together and get back on the freaking path with everyone else. And maybe one day I will, and maybe that’s OK – but for now I’m walking this damned thing.

1 thought on “Walking The Line”

  1. Love the “bushwhacking on a tight rope” metaphor. From someone who is living a fairly traditional existence, I would say the paths are pretty comparable in a lot of ways. Even though the social expectations are filled, the personal and individual reality is completely unique and also does not come with a road map, a safety net or a complete desire to be on that path every day. Similarly, there are days where I want to get off the freakin’ path and find some excitement on a tightrope…it may just be that the grass is never greener on the other side, it’s greener where you water it. I’d love to say that’s my wisdom but I stole it from someone, just can’t remember where! Thanks for your reflections love.

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