A foolish journey ... ? you decide
The young man stood at the beginning of the trail, his backpack firmly on his shoulders, and took one small sip of water ... contemplating the journey ahead.
“It’s an easy one” they said ... “Just a few miles ... you’ll be there before sundown ... just don’t wander off, and you’ll be fine” [like that was reassuring - what would happen if he did ‘wander off’ ... and how far would he have to go off trail before ‘it’ happened ...?!]
But he curbed his distracting thoughts, squared his shoulders ... and took the first of many steps ...
His eyes firmly on the horizon, his breath strong and even, the journey began ...
This was not just a frivolous escapade, but one that would determine his future ... well, at least as he thought his future should be ...
You see, she was waiting for him at the end of the trail ... a final gesture, a hope for reconciliation, a ‘test’ of his resolve ...to find out if they should have a Life together ...
Did they quarrel ? well, not any more than other couples...and, he thought with secret satisfaction, the make-up sex afterwards was great ...
So, all should have been forgiven ... should it not ?!
After all, he didn’t cheat on her, drank very moderately, and only on social occasions, did not go off ‘with the boys’, in fact they often planned outing together ... but noooo, she felt that it wasn’t enough, that he worked too hard, and stayed way too late most nights ...
Well, you tell me how he was going to pay for all the gifts, and jewels, the fancy cars, the mortgage, and the holidays abroad ... Never mind that he did it all for her ... Couldn’t she see that he was a good - no scratch that - a great provider ...?! that anything she wanted, anything at all, he would move heaven and earth to get it for her ... That all these sacrifices had to be done now, while he was still young, and strong, and could work hard ... and that if he didn’t do it ... well, no-one else was going to do it for him ...!
So, why was she so contrary, why was she complaining so much ...
WHAT DID HE DO WRONG ...?!!!
And with each step his mind rose in turmoil, clouding not only his reason, but also his vision ...
No longer was he seeing the beauty of the trail, no longer did he appreciate the fresh wind, the pretty flowers, or the birds on the wing ...
Closed within himself, he stomps with each step, glowering at each pebble that twists his foot, or the branch that dares encroach upon his path, or the warm sun upon his back ...
No joy in this journey ... what started off as a path of self-examination, and a desire to strengthen the bond that might still exist, now has simply turned into the oldest ‘blame-game’ of all “I’m not wrong, because you are not right !!” ...
“After all”, he rationalizes, “both of us can’t be blameless, and I know that I did nothing wrong ... so the fault must lie with her” ... even if he cannot think what this might be ...
And as he plods along, the sun begins to set, the temperature cools off ... and he realizes that he isn’t anywhere near the end of the trail ... in fact, he seems to have gotten himself turned around [was he not paying attention ?] for there, I front of him, is the very starting point, the beginning of his journey ...
“Oh, what’s the point of it all” he mutters to himself as he steps off “It wouldn’t have worked out - she just isn’t grateful enough ... just doesn’t appreciate me !”
... and so, secure in his own unsullied pride, he once again moves towards the glittering lights of his Life ...
...
... while at the end of the trail she waits ... and even as the last rays of the setting sun give way to night, she hopes that he’ll realize that all she ever wanted was him - not his gifts, money, or jewels ... just him ...
Now you, the reader, must decide - was the journey fruitful ...? Did it accomplish anything ... and what did it reveal ...? ...
But before you pass so quick a judgment consider that this is your perception, and so reveals more about you, than the poor protagonists of this sorry tale ...
There is no ‘right’ and there is no ‘wrong’ ... there is simply ‘Perception’... and thus we create our Reality ...
