Path with Branches

One of the recurring thoughts that I've had this week is the notion that your life can be completely different depending on who you end up marrying. Meaning, you can be completely compatible with two different people, but your life will be completely different (and happy in a completely different way) depending on which person you end up being with.

Or you could end up marrying someone totally wrong for you. :-(

And that's the scary part, I think. How do you know that the person you choose is the right person? How do you know that you won't actually be happier, living a completely different life with someone else?

It's a lot like walking along a path and finding at some point that it branches off in different directions. Once you've chosen one of the branches, the way back is closed forever, and now your universe of options has shrunk to what's left of the path that you've chosen.

I sometimes think this is why people are so afraid of making commitments. It's the fear that you may choose the wrong path, then spend the rest of your life wondering where the other path(s) could have taken you.

Life is so much simpler when you have less opportunities and less options. When circumstances limit you to a simple, single path, no further thought or reflection is required. You simply go with the flow. No angst. No drama. No big decisions to make.

Having said all that, I still prefer a path with branches, though. Life seems richer that way, despite (or perhaps because of) the tough decisions that have to be made every time the road branches.