Time to...Series
Time to…Choose a Fork
Essay No. 03 – Time to Choose a Fork
Have you ever been casually strolling down the highway of
life, and suddenly find yourself playing the role of the Coyote in a Roadrunner
cartoon. That moment, when suddenly, a
giant fork appears in the road in front of you, and you have to chose which
tine on the fork to take. If you’ve been
the coyote before, you know that more than likely, one of those tines is going
to have an Acme Safe above it ready to fall on your head. Another tine, is either going to explode. Silently you hope that at least one of the tines
will be the route that will let you finally catch the Roadrunner
.
If you life is like mine, it probably seems to be full of
forks in the road, and for many of us, the first fork that we have to choose is
sitting on the table in front of us, when we make it to the big table for the
family Thanksgiving Dinner. For suddenly instead of the one fork, which you
used for everything, there are two or maybe even three forks next to your plate. You’re first thought is which one is for
what, if no one had taken the time to explain this old world tradition, and for
most boys, the second thought is, “hey it is all going to the same spot in my
body, so why do I need a one fork for my meat and another for my salad.”
If that is the only fork, that you have ever had to make a
choice about, then you have lived either a charmed or very boring life, and
personally I would lean towards that later.
For most of us, we have had an untold number of forks appear before along
our life’s journey. If you are lucky,
most of the forks you meet along life’s road, especially when you are young and
learning, are like a carving fork, with just two tines or routes from which to
choose. For me, those early forks seemed to be placed in the road of life to
teach me how to make the decision about which tine to take in my life’s
journey.
I will be the first to admit that I did not always choose
the right branch of the fork to follow.
Even though the path was not always right, I tried my best to learn from
each mistake, and soon discovered that some of the paths that were wrong would
allow you to backtrack and take either the other path, or choose between those
remaining. The trick in life is to not
take the fork that is totally wrong, and from which there is no return. Thankfully, I have not chosen this fork in my
life, to date, but it is disturbing for me to see the number of young people,
and not just in this country, who are taking that fork.
I would also like to admit here, that I have never been one
to take one route, and stick to it forever. I have take many a different path,
some of which have lead me to amazing experiences, and places, but I have also
taken a few duds in my life, most often done during a time of feeling
desperate. However, at the present time
I am on a path that I chose from the fork that appeared in my life’s highway at
the end of the double ought decade.
Luckily it was a two prong fork, and the forks were pretty easy to choose
from: Work, Be Depressed, Be Bored, or Retire, Make the same money, Reduce
stress, Be Happy, Be Creative.
It really was a pretty easy choice for me; I retired, and
have not looked back. In fact I have only been back once since I left to do a
little consulting, and after the first day there, I felt just like I did before
I retired. Luckily for me, I could do
the rest of the consulting work from my home, which I happily did. My choice of
the retirement fork in the road has done exactly what I expected it to do. I still have been able to maintain a steady
income level, without touching reserves; my stress level is such that I have
been able to reduce my medications, I truthfully feel happier than I have in
years. As for where my personal level of
creativity is at the moment, since I have retired, I have written and published
27 separate works, initially under my pen-name, and beginning this year under
my own name as well. I also create and
maintain my own web-site, www.antiquepoet.com,
as well as write and publish three blogs.
My favorite part about this path, the one that I call,
“Creative Retirement” is that I have not worked a day since I began this
journey. This is a path that I fully
intend to stay on for the rest of my life. Contrary to the path that most seek today, I
am not on this path for monetary gain, my rewards along this path, come in the
form of emotional stability, personal happiness, and pride in what my
creativity has produced. I still
remember the feeling that I felt, when the first copy of the first book I
published sold. It is an easy feeling to
remember, since I experience it still today for each book that sells.
I hope that like me, you are able to choose the path to
follow, which brings your happiness and peace, when that multi-tine fork
suddenly appears in your life’s highway. My path is chosen, and I don’t foresee
it changing anytime soon, but one never does know when that next fork may
suddenly appear in life’s road.
©September
23, 2015
Richard
Nurse
The Antique
Poet
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