I stand at the brink of a new day – not just the literal new day that comes with strike of midnight, but also a figurative day that signifies a new beginning and a fresh start.

There is a bridge that is close, but there is also a pass through rocky terrain. The choice before me is to choose the bridge, a path worn by the many feet that cross it every day, or to choose the path less traveled. The bridge will no doubt lead me to safety, but it is a safety of that which is expected. The path, for all its hazards, leads to somewhere unexpected and the interesting thing is, that the farther I go along the path, the more uncertain I will be of where I am.

The choice would prove simple for most people I’m sure, but I am not “most” people and I hesitate to be one. Safety is delightful in its certainty but the problem with this is that there are conditions for safety. There are rules that must be strictly (and I must admit sometimes not so strictly) adhered to for the guarantee of this safety. In this way, safety can seem a prison without walls. Safety is a snare and fear is the bait. For it is because of fear that we seek safety and one we are safe, it is fear that keeps us. Although this may be simply the idle chatter of a being caught too long in safety, and unaware of that which lies away from safety, would it not be better for everyone to step out of safety once and again?

The path, though an obvious sort of trap in its obscurity, is subtler in its rewards. The subtleness is because a reward is not guaranteed should one venture down the path, whereas safety is seemingly its own reward on the bridge. It is like those old game shows that have the fabulous prize or what is in the mystery box. The path is the “mystery box” in this situation and so the prize may pale compared to the advantages of safety or may be all the gold in El Dorado. So, what fool picks the mystery box? Gamblers, idiots, and those who have nothing to lose. Hopefully I match all of these criteria., and should I travel the path I will be blessed by my gamble or my stupidity or my last chance.

The sad part is that although both roads may be taken in life, there must be an ultimate choice between the two. My only regret is the time it will take to see where my choice leads.