A Celebration of the Roads Not Taken

I think I might need a bumper sticker that says "I brake for foliage!" For there I was, driving past the local airport, hoping to catch a glimpse of something pretty on my drive to work, when I saw this road. The foliage looked really lovely, but in a second, I was past it, just like that!

So you know how I am. I had to drive a bit up the road to find a turnaround, and back I came. And I parked by the gate and left the car running while I snagged a few foliage shots down this inviting road.

I have no idea where this road goes, or even if it is a public road that is open to people like me. All I know is that it was beautiful, and I spent about two minutes there, completely happy, taking my pictures. (Yes, I've told you - some of my photo shoots are really, really quick! And two minutes of happy is better than none at all!)

But I longed for more time, as I often do. Time to see what lay just beyond that curve. Time to go for a walk. Time for more pictures. Time to spend with those I love. Time to enjoy the autumn beauties that are like something from a happy dream.

I think that is one of the things that is most important about the road not taken. It gives us a glimpse down a path we MIGHT have followed. It gives us a sense of other possibilities beyond the one we chose. A road not taken is an open-ended sentence, without a start or finish . . . a glimpse at what might have been.

It gives us a chance to try on a future we don't have to commit to. It gives us a glimpse of other lives we might have lived. It might just give us something to yearn for, which is an important part of happiness, I think: always having something more that we long for; for longing is part of happiness, too . . .

The song to accompany this image that made me turn my car around is a favorite: Bruce Hornsby, with The Road Not Taken.

P.S. In order to play catch-up, I've had to post two Blips today. Please also have a look at the prior shot, a photo of my new buddy, Ferdinand the Bull. :-)