Inspiration: The Best Way Out Is Always Through…

“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life. It goes on.” Robert Frost

Inspiration: The Best Way Out Is Always Through... In nature and in all things, life goes on.

How do you get through situations? Do you simply ignore certain things or do you barrel through them? Perseverance is a noble quality yet, there are times when we decide to throw down the gauntlet, walk away and call it a day. As Frost says above, life does go on whether we are on board or not with the overall plan. In this post, I have selected excerpts from a few of my favorite Robert Frost poems that speak to the question of how we get through situations; view them as vignettes of reason and wisdom.

“The best way out is always through.” Robert Frost

Inspiration: The Best Way Out Is Always Through... A servant to servants

A Servant to Servants by Robert Frost (1874–1963), North of Boston, 1915. Excerpted. Full poem via Bartleby.com
I DIDN’T make you know how glad I was
To have you come and camp here on our land.
I promised myself to get down some day
And see the way you lived, but I don’t know!
…
He (Len)looks on the bright side of everything,
Including me. He thinks I’ll be all right
With doctoring. But it’s not medicine—
Lowe is the only doctor’s dared to say so—
It’s rest I want—there, I have said it out—
From cooking meals for hungry hired men
And washing dishes after them—from doing
Things over and over that just won’t stay done.
By good rights I ought not to have so much
Put on me, but there seems no other way.
Len says one steady pull more ought to do it.
He says the best way out is always through.
And I agree to that, or in so far
As that I can see no way out but through—
Leastways for me—and then they’ll be convinced.

Sometimes when we are tired, we just push through because we expect that we can rest with ease once a task or project is completed. At other times, we take the time to rest and come back strengthened. We need only convince ourselves of the choice we make.

“I hold it to be the inalienable right of anybody to go to hell in his own way.” Robert Frost

Inspiration: The Best Way Out Is Always Through... Fire and Ice...

Fire and Ice by Robert Frost via Wikipedia
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great

Both fire and ice can be destructive elements… When we fan the flames of hate, we create situations that become explosive. On the other hand, an icy nature can be equally destructive. In all things we need balance.

“Forgive me my nonsense as I also forgive the nonsense of those who think they talk sense.” Robert Frost

Inspiration: The Best Way Out Is Always Through... Nothing Gold lasts...

Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost via Poets.org
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Even things that glitter have a limited shelf life for their owners. At some point, we stop listening to the pronouncements and must just get on with living… Sense or nonsense won’t matter.

“Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper.” Robert Frost

Inspiration: The Best Way Out Is Always Through... Mending Walls...

Mending Wall by Robert Frost Excerpted via Poets.org
Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun;
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
…
There where it is we do not need the wall:
He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, ‘Good fences make good neighbors.’
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
‘Why do they make good neighbors? Isn’t it
Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.
Before I built a wall I’d ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offense.
Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,
That wants it down.’ I could say ‘Elves’ to him,
But it’s not elves exactly, and I’d rather
He said it for himself.

Good fences make good neighbors if all are in agreement on the placement of those fences… Sometimes, we agree to things we don’t believe and that is when we need the courage to change directions. Always More below. 😉

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.” Robert Frost

Inspiration: The Best Way Out Is Always Through... Stopping by Snowy woods

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost Excerpted via rpo.library(1874-1963)
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
…
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Sleep is a common topic in this neck of the woods, and like Frost, we all have promises to keep before we sleep… Pressing through it is the logical option, for now.

“There are two kinds of teachers: the kind that fill you with so much quail shot that you can’t move, and the kind that just gives you a little prod behind and you jump to the skies.” Robert Frost

Inspiration: The Best Way Out Is Always Through... The road not taken on a divergent path

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost Excerpted via Wikipedia
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;
…
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.

Taking the road less traveled takes tremendous grace, strength and courage… Initially, it is frightening but once we push through, we see why it has made all the difference. The teachers we meet along the path will help push us forward. However, the best way is always to push through the barriers in our minds first, then push the physical barriers around us; the extra effort will give us a little prod from behind and help us jump to the skies. What are your thoughts? How do you get through situations? Have you tried to simply ignore things or do you barrel through them? If you could choose, what would you rather do? Would it make a difference? Do share! Thank you. 😉

This post was inspired by a prompt from Mamakat’s Weekly Writings: What did you go through in order to get out? “The best way out is always through” (Inspired by Shatterboxx and some dude named Robert Frost)

Positive Motivation Tip: Sometimes it is best to let things be and then, at other times, to barrel through. Reflect on it first.

PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos Nature’s Life Source, Two servants, Fire and Ice, Gold Leaf Wreath,  Mending Wall, Snowy Woods, Divergent Rd, via Wikipedia. Or via Flickr

Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet