I Took The Road Less Traveled

I am Rich Johnson, a fellow traveler on this little blue orb we all call home.  Like so many others, I have spent my life conforming to the guidelines laid down by so many well-meaning parents, teachers, religious and political leaders, all of whom believe they know what is best for us.  I did my part by going to school, working hard, getting my degree, getting a job and raising a family, all the while suppressing the dreams and visions I had for myself.  I reasoned that these people who were telling me how to live my life must know something that I don’t.  After all, they are accomplished in their chosen fields.  They must know things that I don’t know.

After so many years of living my life by other peoples’ standards, I began to question everything.  I distinctly remember the day it all changed for me.  I was standing in the parking lot in front of the office complex where I worked.  I could not bring myself to enter the building.  I stood there in the parking lot watching cars filling  the parking spaces.  I watched as people streamed into the building like so many ants entering the ant hill.  I thought about how absurd the whole scene was.  I watched as birds flew overhead and thought that everything they need for survival is available to them.  All they must do is take what they need.  There is no hoarding.  There is no fighting for a limited supply.  There is no competition.  They live as nature intended.

In stark contrast, we humans have developed an artificial economy that was intended to make our lives easier, but instead has removed us from our real purpose in life.  We have mortgages that we pay on houses that we barely enjoy because we are too busy working to pay the mortgage on those houses.  We have automobiles that were invented to provide us with mobility and freedom.  We get into those vehicles and drive for hours on the same roads day after day, going to the offices that resemble ant hills so we can pay the mortgages on the houses that we drive back to at night to prepare for our next day at the office.  This is freedom?

With this realization, I decided to take a different road – the road less traveled.  I have just started on this journey, but I invite you to join me on the road.  Hopefully, we will discover a better way to live – a way that is more fulfilling.

Rich Johnson