Jean Burman

artwork & content Copyright 2008 Jean Burman

The road less travelled (nor taken) has been much talked about. But what exactly is it? And where does it lead? Who exactly takes this road… and perhaps more importantly… who doesn’t… and why?

When Robert Frost penned “The Road Not Taken” he could not have known how much interest and speculation his poem would elicit. Although written in the first person as though referring to himself… the poem was actually inspired by his friend and walking companion Edward Thomas. Whilst walking together in the woods… Thomas would often fret about which path to take… and once having committed to the one… still wondered where the other might have led.

Aren’t we all just a little bit like Edward Thomas? ~grin~

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN - Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Whilst popular opinion reads “non-conformity” and aspirations of “forging one’s own path” into Frost’s words… Frost himself described the poem as “tricky”.

And it’s tricky all right!

In the first verse he sizes up both paths.

In the second verse he voices indecision… and acknowledges confusion (whilst one path is grassier… both appear to have about the same amount of wear)

In the third verse he chooses the path (despite both paths appearing equal)… and acknowledges regret that he would never know the other path.

In the fourth verse he speculates (into the future) about his choice… and how having chosen the path he did… it would make all the difference.

Despite the insertion of a sigh (which could be a sigh of relief or regret) he gives no hint if that difference would be good or bad. But let’s face it… even he could not know that yet. I guess it is at this juncture… more of a hopeful thought… or a wish.

This got me thinking:

Maybe the road less taken… was “less taken” for a reason? Afterall… many a headstrong bloody-minded decision was taken in the name of striking out on the independent path… sometimes in the wrong direction!

Funny how people only ever think about the other road… (and what might have been) when they are bored lost or disenchanted with the road they are on. Otherwise they rarely give it a second thought! LOL

Would things have really been much different over on that other road anyway? They would afterall… have still been themselves… albeit having been influenced and shaped by a different set of circumstances and experiences. But who’s to say they wouldn’t have reverted to type anyway… and fallen into the predictable way?

In reality I would venture to say… the road less travelled doesn’t exist. Truth is there are many many roads… as many roads as there are people out there travelling on them!

There are roads for those who would choose to fall into line along a well trodden trajectory… seeking safety in numbers… and comfort in knowing ahead of time the general direction their life will take. And there are roads for those for which this would never do!

We are each of us on our own road… and it’s a road of our own choosing… whether we care to admit it or not! It’s an undeniable fact that at some point along the road to “here”… we chose this way… and there is now no going back!

But who would want to go back? True… we may never learn what lay along the path not taken… but who really cares? Nothing is set in concrete… least of all our life’s journey!

Tomorrow is another path… a new direction… new and better choices… and different opportunities. Whichever road we are on… (and no matter where we are along it)… there will always be another fork in the road… and we should never ever lose sight of it… nor miss the opportunity to take it!

cartoon - pen & watercolour 9″ x 12″

Artwork & content Copyright Jean Burman 2008

Okay… I needed a spiel to put with the cartoon… so here goes.

It was something said over on John’s blog the other day which tripped this off.

Ellie commented and I quote:

“Real work” is a stay-at-home mom raising children. No pay…hardly any respect, but molding the lives of those who will determine our future.

My reply was predictable given my passion for the subject:

here here Ellie. Odd isn’t it? That the most important occupation on the planet receives the least attention and respect.

The Govt. here pays for childcare so both parents can go out to “work”. It doesn’t make sense. Why not pay the mother to do the job… after all she is best equipped to look after her own children. But what woman wants to live at the bottom of the food chain?

It’s time for a change of attitude… the future depends on it.

To which Lee replied:

Jean, Ellie, in my opinion the housewife and mother is the unsung hero of this nation. Strange to say that if there is no cash rewards, the job is not honored. Very mixed up world that we live in nowadays.

It occurred to me then… that this was not only a subject I felt passionate about. It was in all likelihood… a subject that lots of people felt passionate about! And especially those who have been through it. Motherhood that is. And the stay-at-home kind of motherhood… in particular.

It has always puzzled me… how a “valid” occupation… one that requires such a great deal of self sacrifice… (but which also “sets a person up” for success in so many different spheres of life)… can be so looked down upon and disregarded by society as a whole.

The brief for the job afterall… is extensive and exhaustive.

Applicants must be on call 24 hours per day 7 days per week 52 weeks per year for the term of one’s natural life (!)

The pay is lousy… (save for those priceless snuggles and adoringly cute little smiles)

Furthermore… in alphabetical order… applicants must be proficient in

(although one does have a lifetime in which to hone these skills… by the end of such time… one will be expected to have achieved excellence)

accounting/ bookkeeping and animal husbandry: breastfeeding/ burping and Bpay: cooking/ cleaning/ counselling and costume design: dress making and driving instruction: environmental management and the emptying of lunchboxes:

firefighting (the ability to “extinguish” between real and metaphorical in this area will be viewed favourably) garbage collection: hairdressing and homework administration: hostel management and homeopathy: isolation therapy and ironing: journalism and jury duty:

kitchen duties (including the ability to mindfully study the dynamic of the humble plughole - sometimes for hours on end - in the event of the dishwasher failing to work): laundry work and lecturing: market research/ maintenance and mathematics: naturopathy/ nannying and

nuclear medicine (essential for those somewhat curly 3rd grade science projects): pharmacology/ picture framing/ petrol pumping and plumbing: quarantining: recycling/ re-roofing/ re-tailing/ re-turning/ re-routing/ re-placing/ and let’s not forget “refusing” (and any number of other skills… too many to list… beginning with “re”…

which of course implies correctly that whatever the skill was in the first place… it must be done a-g-a-i-n) ~sigh~ and *wink*

in addition to (hah… thought I was done didn’t you?)

sewing/singing/ sports coaching/ stockbroking/ street cleaning/ speech therapy and surgery: taxi driving/telephony/anything to do with the theatre and toxicology: video production/vehicle maintenance and veterinary nursing: waitressing/web design/waste water recycling and window cleaning/and last but not least on the list…

zookeeping… which believe it or not is a pre-requisite skill for keeping the household in order… each in his or her own place… and at the feedbox at the appropriate time!

image - courtesy of lomokev Flickr

With all these skills clearly in abundance in the everyday stay-at-home Mum… can somebody please tell me why then… when mothers decide to re-enter paid employment they are so often [condescendingly] advised to re-skill? Re-skill? Re-skill for what? Having spent any number of years between 1 and 20… multi-tasking jobs at a rate their opposite gender counterparts could only ever dream about… who needs to re-skill?

Mothers are not only the Salt of the Earth…

they are the Spice of Life!

They are what makes the world go round!

Mothers should be placed up ON a pedestal… (not positioned in front of one with a brush!) *wink*

They are the people who are responsible for raising the people of the future. Their contribution must be valued.

And women need to cut each other some slack here too! Women should not be made to feel inferior and small for choosing to stay at home to do the very real work of rearing the family… and they must not be “guilted” into a return to paid work… (or a career)… in order to win society’s regard. [That's not to say that those who do choose to (or must) return to paid work should not be respected and supported in their decision to do so]

Motherhood… in all it’s modern day variations and forms… is still a hallowed institution… worthy of courtesy and deep respect.

So as the world hangs in the balance “awaiting the pendulum swing” that will see Mothers the world over treated with the equal respect they deserve… the future of human civilisation continues to depend upon them. Therefore it may not be too far fetched to suggest that the successful outcomes for generations to come… may hinge upon a Mother’s success at doing her job… (learning and adapting as she goes)… and doing it exceedingly well.

And as blind freddy can plainly see… that’s a rather BIG job in any man’s language! (chuckles)

“All that I am or hope to be… I owe to my Mother” - Abraham Lincoln

Cartoon - pen and watercolour 9″ x 12″

all artwork & content Copyright Jean Burman 2008 (C)

The engines had scarcely cooled… and the atmosphere had barely settled across the skies over Heathrow last week… before the naysayers and ne’er do wells were out in force baying at the moon. They wanted blood. They always do. But… in the fallout of mixed press reviews after last week’s historic test flight of a Virgin Atlantic 747 jumbo using an experimental biofuel made from coconuts and the brazillian babassu nut … it was headlines like

Branson’s coconut airways-but jet is on a flight to nowhere

Flight of Biofuel Fancy

Biofuel flight a publicity stunt

Ecoplane a dangerous Branson stunt

Virgin Atlantic bangs two halves of a coconut together and calls it biofuel

which left many readers (including this one) if not “seeing red”… then just a little “green around the gills” ~grin~

Labelled as “high altitude greenwash” by Greenpeace… and a “gimmick” by Friends of the Earth… the test flight predictably met with harsh criticism from green groups and certain areas of the media. But in my view… they missed the point.

In what was undeniably a historical small first step in the quest for cleaner skies and a brighter future for us all… Sir Richard Branson was once again at the forefront of innovation and enterprise in the ground breaking collaboration between Virgin Atlantic Boeing GE Aviation and energy company Imperium Renewables. Marlin Dailey from Boeing said:

“Today’s flight is a continuation of a journey we embarked on last year with Sir Richard and Virgin Atlantic to identify more sustainable forms of fuel for the aviation industry. Change begins with a vision. Following that, innovation and technologies are essential to proving the feasibility of renewable, alternative fuel sources for an environmentally progressive future of aviation. We commend Virgin Atlantic for their efforts to move that vision forward for the betterment of all of us.”

In acknowledging that this was just the first small step… Branson said:

“This pioneering flight will enable those of us who are serious about reducing our carbon emissions to go on developing the fuels of the future… fuels which will power our aircraft in the years ahead through sustainable next-generation oils… such as algae.”

Clearly… this is just a start. But like all good ideas… they have to start somewhere. The first wheel may well have been “square” but it didn’t take long for us to realise that making it “round” would cause it to be a whole lot more efficient!  Creative innovation and enterprise were needed to make the leap… and in the process of discovering “what will do” by first acknowledging “what won’t do”… progress was made.

It’s no different now.

We stand [excitedly] on the forefront of a new frontier. We need to develop new approaches to old challenges. New ways must be found to provide sustainable renewable sources of energy to not only power existing infrastructure… but also to power the infrastructure of the future… much of it beyond our wildest dreams at this point in time.

To this end… we need to keep an open mind as never before. We cannot go back… even though the pundits would have us believe that we should.

“Well, that settles it. We’re going to have to go back to sailing ships (but they might frighten the whales!)” - anonymous poster

But rolling back progress is not the answer. We must go forward. It’s the way of things. So instead of standing in the way of those who would go on ahead to blaze the trail for the rest of us… we should get behind them and help with the push.

And anyone who is willing to invest in excess of $3 billion dollars [and the requisite elbow grease] over the next decade to fight global warming (as Branson has pledged to do)… is worth getting behind don’t you think?

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm” - Ralph Waldo Emerson