At the place where I work there's a U-shaped driveway that's surrounded by 4-story buildings except at the open end of the U. The driveway is curbed by a sidewalk, and the parking garage is 100 yards ahead and slightly to the right. That means that on most days people walking to their car will do so in an arc, with driveway on their left and building on their right.
One sunny late afternoon I started down that trail myself when I noticed that a good part of the route sat in the shade, which is refreshing on a summer day but not a February one. However, the shadows hadn't quite reached the driveway itself.
Why not step onto the driveway, I thought? There were no cars driving through. All that kept me from choosing the warmer route was basically groupthink of all the pedestrians gamely following the herd.
The famous poem about taking the road less traveled doesn't fairly apply here - I think its central point was to take a risk into the unknown, whereas I was pretty certain that I would be more comfortable, less crowded, and equally safe from being crushed by a car as everyone else. Maybe the moral here is to look around and make the most of the little joys that life offers us, rather than living resigned to routine or safety in numbers with our heads down. Life is as interesting as we choose to see it.
No comments:
Post a Comment