Pathways

February 2014

There are more than two choices at the crossroads.  I count at least five paths that can be taken at the intersection of two roads. Continue on as you are; choose to go right or left into new territory or even go back from where you came.  You can also stop and make a life of sorts at the crossroads, without travelling down any unknown paths.

In the world in which I work and live, crossroads can be seen as problematic.  What is the right way to go?  Will I miss out on something if I go one way or another?  Perhaps I should just stop and rest because really I work so hard and am so tired.  Or, in the back of my mind is that little safe voice that soothes: you can always go back.

In the bigger world, in which I don’t always work or live, not everyone is given the gift of a crossroads.  Not everyone has the choice to change direction or even stop a while to contemplate a new pathway. 

I recently visited a Children’s Centre in Yangon, Myanmar in preparation to work creatively with a Burmese community there this year.  A small child limped toward me expectantly on my first visit.  She was perfectly formed; her gait disrupted by a broken strap on one of her slip-on shoes.  Eyes wide, she stopped and looked up at me, wiped her runny nose with her hand and said something in Burmese as she took off the plastic thong and handed it to me for fixing.  I couldn’t fix it.  It was missing the part that anchored the bottom to the strap.  I shoved the flapping strap back in its hole, knowing it didn’t fix anything, but she smiled as she put it on her foot and shuffled off happily, glancing back at me as I stood quietly, a guest in her home.

I had careened off my well paved road some time ago; the trajectory thrusting me into this conversation with a young girl who just needed a new pair of slip-on shoes and a tissue for her runny nose.  As she continued on her way I realised she probably knew I couldn’t fix the shoe, but had been more interested in the cuddle and contact as I responded to her invitation for conversation.  I also realised she may never have the options I have had, both for conversation and the fixing-of-things, because of the privilege of choice at the crossroads.  We who have choices should take riskier paths for those who do not. 

Why?  Because choosing an unknown direction just might lead us to encounter the most precious of individuals shuffling along happily.  Though some may never have the gift of choice that multiple crossways offer fellow travellers through life, we can choose to walk along someone else’s path a while.  In exchanging smiles and sharing space, we can be open to discovering what is the most important part of journeying on another person’s pathway. 

Images: Glass Factory pathways

Photography by Lucinda Coleman, taken on location at the Nagar Glass Factory, Yangon, Myanmar