My favorite book by far is Les Miserables. I don’t know many who have read the book… possibly because the unabridged version contains nearly 1500 pages. I can never finish the ending without crying. If I could be 1/1000000 of the person Jean Valjean is, I’d feel accomplished. Over the weekend, I read parts of the book and came across this quote:

Before him he saw two roads, both equally straight; but he did see two; and that terrified him—he who had never in his life known anything but one straight line. And, bitter anguish, these two roads were contradictory.

(NOTE: May contain some book spoilers… but I will try to keep it to a minimum)

The quote refers to Javert, who had his fundamental beliefs shaken in one swift moment. The incident left him questioning everything in his life he had dedicated himself to. Like Javert, I think everyone can see two paths before them. And often times, they are completely contradictory. The question is, how can you know which path to take? Sadly, the correct choice doesn’t have large neon signs saying “TAKE THIS ONE”…

I have a mental image of life as walking through a densely populated forest at night. It’s hard to see where you’re going and often times, it may seem impossible to make it through. But there are fleeting moments where the moonlit does shine through the branches and illuminate the path. As you get older, the forest slowly becomes less dense, and it becomes easier to see where you’re going. At the end of the long road, I imagine there’s something akin to a lake. You gaze into the lake and stare at your reflection. And hopefully, you’ll like the person staring back.