Crossroads

“Follow the path of the majority! You can never go wrong with that path. It is the most chosen path for a reason, after all.”

Standing at crossroads had always been a source of mental confusion and turmoil for Synchysi. Being a settler, he had always found deciding between multiple options to be burdensome. As he stood at the very origin of the crossroads, all the paths appeared equally enticing to him, but he wasn’t naive enough to believe this. He knew they would soon uncloak their complications as soon as he starts to tread on them. Standing at the first crossroads of his journey, he felt only one pure feeling: confusion. He was extremely bewildered by the sheer amount of choices present, and was unsuccessful in making a decision. He felt a sheer helplessness, as his thought and action was full of indecisiveness. He could only think about his incapable situation as he followed the sea.  

“Take path A, it’s faster!”

“Path B is more rewarding!”

“Path C for sure! It’s risk-free!”

“Path D should be your first option! It’s adventurous!”  

Standing at crossroads once again, Synchysi now found himself more alert. He was determined to make a more judged decision this time and therefore, decided to perform a full-scale assessment before he made his choice. He tried to view the depth of the path from the onset, but soon gave in to this impossible chore. Unable to perform an assessment by himself, he decided to do the next best thing; to take advice from wanderers. He always had a secret admiration for wanderers. Choosing between paths came so naturally to them, they made it seem so facile and straight-forward. They always seemed so self-confident and self-assured about their choice.

Confident about his decision, Synchysi strode up to the wanderers and with all his might put forward his query: one which had the power to make or break his life. He anticipated receiving different answers, but he never expected that he would return more confused than ever. Each one of them, had their own outlook on which path would be most ideal and best suited, but neither of their view seemed to satisfy him.

“Don’t take path A, it is extremely demoralising”

“Avoid path B by all means, I’ve heard of numerous obstacles”

“Path C is a very substandard path and is only for corrupt people”

“No way are you choosing path D! People who tread on that path are never successful!”

Standing at crossroads once again, Synchysi’s mind was racing through his past choices. He would have loved to believe that his choices were the best, but his interaction with the wanderers would never give him that peace. Brushing away all these thoughts, he stared at the crossroads ahead of him and thought of the implications of each choice. Still unable to make a decision, he decided to once again treat himself to some advice. Disappointed by the outcome of his interaction with the wanderers; this time he decided to take a different route and posed the same query to fellow settlers.

Still no luck.

As he walked back to the crossroads after numerous intense discussions, he vaguely remembered his disoriented younger self standing at similar crossroads. He realised that even though he had taken a different route to perform his assessment, the outcome was strikingly similar as before: every individual; be it a wanderer or a settler, had a different perspective on which path would be the best suited, and none seemed to satisfy him or even persuade him to choose that path.

‘Heed your mind and follow your heart’

Standing at crossroads for what might be the final time before he arrived at his destination; the ‘deja vu’ evoked powerful memories in Synchysi. He recollected his first blind decision at his very first crossroads, followed by his interaction with the ever-changing wanderers and then, his similar interaction with the ever so stable settlers. He had learnt so much from each crossroad, but was still unable to determine if his choice at each crossroad was the best choice. Though he was told by many that the course of his journey would make him wiser and more enlightened; the only thing he had managed to master from his journey was the art of making his own decisions, and to stop judging them. He had realised it was a futile attempt to try and validate his choices, and it was an even more pointless attempt to justify his choices to others. So this time ‘he’ made the choice; not the wanderers; not the settlers; him.

When Synchysi started out on his journey, he was a man of varied thoughts and ideas. He was a confused man, and a man who preferred to settle than wander. But the journey itself changed him completely. He was still a man of varied thoughts, and he was still a very confused man. Nevertheless, he was a man who had learnt to accept, and more importantly, had learnt to make his own decisions. Did he regret any of his past choices? So far, no. And why is that so? It is for the simple reason that he would have never learnt to make his own choices unless he assessed and experimented the various other routes there were!

So, as he lay down to sleep, it gave him great pleasure to watch a settler progeny set out on his journey. Before he closed his eyes, he made a final wish: for everyone to be given a chance to learn the art of decision-making and satisfaction, so that when they are faced with crossroads, they take a decision on their own, and in the long run, remain satisfied with that decision. Yes, wanderers and settlers, can influence you when it comes to weighing the different paths, but never should they be allowed to take the final decision for you.

A white light slowly engulfed Synchysi, and as he drifted away into vast emptiness, in front of his eyes lay one more crossroad. But this time, he was nor disoriented, neither confused. He simply had a smile playing on the edges of his lips, and his arms embraced this crossroad with the confidence of a man who believed in himself, and his decisions.