Sometimes life is compared to a road. A road that we are all travelling down. For me, I do not see the comparison. When traversing a road, at any point, one can decide to stop. One can decide to take a turn. These things; these are like life. But unlike a road, at no point in life can one do one particular thing. The one thing possible on any road.

One cannot turn around.

Like a road, there are some things that cannot be changed. Though it would be convenient for a bridge to exist so that I can more easily cross the river, it does not. I must travel several miles to the next closest bridge. This is a fact. These are the truths of life.

To get anywhere, we must travel the road. Any road. It is a necessity. Whether one lives in a metropolis or a village; the road is what leads to what we all either want or need. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t pay attention to the road nor give it the credit it deserves. Not necessarily for where it is taking me, but where it has brought me. I could have never gotten to where I am without it.

And so the road is more like life than initially thought. If we stay in one place, we fall stagnant. We may even starve. Thankfully for us, the road is there. It is our foundation. It is the earth beneath our feet. It is the path before us. The unknown. Yet, regardless of the outcome of circumstance, there it is firmly beneath out feet, offering itself to us. It even at times encourages us to travel off of it. Here is where we grow. Here is where we learn. Here is where we define ourselves.

Off of the road.

And yet, we always come back to it. No matter how far along in life we get, we enjoy it’s direction.

This is why I feel that life is not so much like a road, but that a road is more of a metaphor for family. And yes, I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t pay the attention to my family nor give them the credit that they deserve. Not necessarily for where they’ve brought me, but more for where what they have taught me is taking me. I could have never gotten to where I am without them.

And so, as life progresses, family is more life than initially thought. If we lose touch with family, we fall stagnant. We may even emotionally starve. Thankfully for us, family is always there. They are our foundation. They are the earth beneath our feet. They provide the knowledge and wisdom for the path before us. The unknown. Yet, regardless of the outcome of circumstance. they are there firmly behind us, backing us with their support. Often, they even encourage us to make decisions that may or may not be wise. Here is where we grow. Here is where we learn. Here is where we define ourselves.

With their support.

And yet, we always come back to them. No matter how far along in life we get, we enjoy their direction.

I love my family. They are the most incredible individuals that I’ve ever known. I’ve travelled away from the road and tried to come back, only to find that so have they. I miss them all a great deal. We are all still on the road, but each of us has a different one.

With life, unlike the road, we can not turn back. We cannot turn back time. I can only hope that our different roads, our individual paths, all somehow converge in one place. A singular location where we are together again.