Robert Frost (USA)
Two roads diverged in the yellow forest,
There are two roads in the yellow forest.
I'm sorry I can't go both,
Unfortunately, I can't participate at the same time.
As a traveler, I have been standing for a long time.
I stood at that intersection for a long time,
Look down as much as I can,
I looked at a road that I could see,
To where it bends underground.
Until it disappeared into the jungle.
And took the other one, and to be fair,
But I chose another path,
Maybe there's a better way to put it,
It's lush and lonely,
Because it is covered with grass and needs to be put on,
More charming and beautiful,
However, as for passing through there,
Although on these two paths,
I'm almost dressed.
Few travelers leave footprints.
Both of them were lying down that morning,
Although the leaves fell to the ground that morning,
There are no black footprints in the leaves,
Neither road was polluted by footprints,
Oh, I saved the first one for the next day!
Oh, leave a way and see you another day!
But knowing how the road leads to the road,
But I know this road has no end,
I even doubt whether I should come back.
I'm afraid I can't go back.
I will tell this story with a sigh,
Maybe in a few years, somewhere,
Somewhere after a long time.
I will sigh gently and look back.
Two roads diverged in the forest,
The two roads diverged in the forest,
I chose a less traveled road,
I chose a lonely one,
This makes everything different.
From then on, it decided my life path.
This is a poem recommended by friends many times. At first, I didn't seriously think about the meaning of this poem. I want to read a method of how to make the best choice between the lines of the author because I have the mentality of seeking answers, but I have only recently read the certainty after choosing a road from the whole poem.
Perhaps, at every important crossroads in life, there is never a so-called optimal choice. Because everyone's growing experience is different. A's honey is B's arsenic, which is something that people who have always chosen to stick to their own path finally realize in life. They didn't choose to give up halfway, wasting time switching back and forth on two or more roads, and they didn't suffer from self-friction on the chosen road. They just walked quietly and worked hard like unpretentious cultivators. Even if you lag behind the people around you temporarily, even if you walk at the end, you never want to look back. It is with this tenacity that they seek benevolence and finally get what they want.
I happened to be reading an autobiography about Fan Jinshi recently, My Heart is in Dunhuang. It is also in this book that I learned that under all kinds of coincidences, Teacher Fan and Dunhuang had an intersection and devoted their lives to Dunhuang. This book, let me see teacher Fan's deep feelings for Dunhuang, and also see her determination to "one road".
Running water does not strive for the first place, but it is endless. There is never the best choice. Perhaps what is really commendable is that on the road of your choice, you will spend your whole life cultivating and sowing until it blooms and bears fruit.