Just got to love the Other Kinds Of Answers…

I really did start this OKOA Blog, mainly to see what “I” could learn from it. But partly due to my always looking for other kinds of answers, my life paths have never been boring, straight, or perfect. I have met a lot of neat fellow humans along the way and do not want to re-do much of what I’ve been through. The story continues, and here’s hoping the journey will be on-going for a while.

The latest “Fork” in my thoroughfare of life actually came from a reader of my little blog, in the form of a short comment by e-mail. Simply put, “Love it!!! Please keep typing your blog; I think I’m getting it!” Seems that this blog is getting read, mostly by friends, co-workers and family, but even they are recommending, share it or send a link on to others. From those simple acts of sharing, folks that I never thought would see it are and that is fine with me.

Now before I get too deep into the e-mail, let me share a little something that was taught to me many years ago. My tutor for this instance was a great man, now passed away, that I loved and admired very much. He was my Father’s Dad, my Grandpa “Dee”. He was a big Dutchman that was quiet, stalwart, firm, intelligent, could fix most anything, and loved his grandkids. When “Dee” did take the time to speak or told us something, all us grandkids listened well, because to not listen, was always trouble.

I happen to ask him one day about some kind of boy’s life choice question, and He, in return, asked if I knew the difference between a “Fork” and a “Y” in the road yet? This was something that my then youthful brain had not even vexed about, and I guessed back an answer, “not yet”? He smiled, and then said, “A ‘Y’ is where the road you’re on becomes two roads, a left or a right choice. A ‘Fork’ is where you are on the left or right and they meet to become one road ahead. Just remember you have many choices on the roads of life.” He then added “Don’t forget to look back down the other “Fork”, if just to see what could be down there.”

We don’t think of a "fork in the road" as an integral part of daily life. Usually it indicates some defining moment of change -- the end of a one thing or the beginning of a new one. The accepted thing about forks in the road is that they are obvious to everyone -- if not before, at least after the fact of stumbling across one.

A fork in the road presents us with choice: Do we continue on the same path we have been following all along, or do we take a different path? Maybe the new path will lead us somewhere, maybe it won't. It's hard to know before we try. There's a risk involved in making a decision, and it can feel very scary. The problem we face is whether or not we're willing to take the risk of making changes.

Sometimes, there is a one additional problem. It's not just that we are hesitant to follow a new path... we are not even aware that it exists. We do not see any fork in the road. Yet, there is usually a fork in the road... even when we're so blinded by our old ways of thinking that we can't see it. Making changes starts with seeing the forks in the road, where we once didn't even notice them.

And here is the three dollar word of the day is: Bifurcation; meaning the splitting of a main body into two parts or any place where one thing divides into two. Unless you are heavy into biology, it is a word that most of us will never even come across in our normal lives. It is a great word for scrabble though.

In closing, just keep going down the road and try to find all the Other Kinds Of Answers you can… They will show up when you least think about them and you may even get two from one.