a third choice

  I have lately been thinking about the idea that people often think there is only one of two choices in life. The classic example I can think of is that of the 'fork in the road'. This idea relates to how one's decision to do one thing invariably appears to exclude the other. But I have to wonder, is this necessarily the case? My concern is that in abandoning one road in favour of the other, I am under the illusion that both roads are separate. In fact, the two roads (the one taken and the one not taken) are really two sides of the same road; they are essentially intertwined.
   When I make one decision, the other path doesn't go away. Rather, it lives in my heart still, as a stillborn or undeveloped path. If I don't honor the path I didn't take, or simply try to repress that path, it will somehow come back in another form. How do I honor that other path? I think the best way seems to be to validate that all paths have a certain legitimacy. While only one path gets chosen in the end, that choice needs to somehow incorporate the other unchosen paths, either through an acknowledgment or a token which represents the blessings of those alternate paths. By recognizing the gravity of choosing one path over others, I am embracing a 'third choice' which is neither rejecting one path nor seeking the other. It's about seeing all paths, whether taken or not, as equal yet different, and having their own unique gifts.