Have you ever gotten lost while driving? I remember the “old days” before Google maps or Waze when you either had a map or a road atlas to find your way on a trip. You had to be good at reading road signs and knowing which exit to take, but now we just wait until an electronic device tells us to take a right or a left…just be careful though, don’t follow your GPS into a lake.
It’s hard sometimes to know which way to go in life. Robert Frost once wrote a famous poem about the “Road Not Taken”. “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood…and sorry I could not travel both…” You may be familiar with this poem, as it has become one of the most misinterpreted poems of all time. What is often thought to be a deep and meaningful story about taking the road less traveled by, was actually an inside joke with a good friend, but either way, it is interesting to think about the choices we have in life. When we come to the fork in the road, how do we decide which way to go? Deciding what to have for dinner is often hard enough.
Many of you have probably heard of Hercules, famous in ancient Greek mythology for his amazing strength and far-ranging adventures. But are you familiar with the story of “the Choice of Hercules”? Similar to The Road Not Taken, the story goes that Hercules also came upon a fork in the road, at which point he sat down to contemplate his future. In his uncertainty he was confronted by two goddesses, one was very beautiful and promised him happiness and fulfillment and a shortcut to an easy way of life. The second goddess offered him a different choice, a path that would be long and difficult and require a lot of hard work, and that he would suffer. She said that the only way to true fulfillment would be through courageous and honorable acts in the face of adversity and persecution. Wow, what a choice…As you may know, Hercules' choice was option 2 – the difficult path, knowing that true fulfillment in life is only realized through hard work, discipline, and choosing to live a life of purpose.
The Choice of Hercules is about virtue, it’s about doing the right thing, it’s about not looking for shortcuts to fulfillment, but making sacrifices and enjoying the fruits of your labor. It’s not about doing only what is good for oneself, but doing what is good for others, and in the end, that is what is often best, even for ourselves. It’s not an easy path though, that’s why it often takes a Herculean effort to live in such a way.
Sadly our modern culture has evolved into a “me first” society. We should know that there are no shortcuts in life, especially ones leading to true fulfillment. When we come to that fork in the road, what will we decide to do next? In life, there is no Google maps or Waze or even a road atlas. Maybe we should ask ourselves, “what would Hercules do?”
“I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference.”
- Robert Frost
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