Dooley Noted: 8/5/2016
Once a road is built, it’s difficult not to go down it.
It’s blazed with bright lights and smooth, silky pavement.
You start taking it every chance you get.
You start to really get to know this road.
You know how it feels.
This is how you create developed pathways in your brain, too.
You pave them and light them because, at one time, they served you well.
Maybe you learned to cope with stress by running.
It worked – until your biomechanics gave way to injury.
Maybe you changed your persona to fit into a community.
It worked – until you realized you didn’t who the “real” you was anymore.
The developed pathways become very easy to take – until they become congested.
In order to get around this developed pathway, you may have to take a backroad.
Maybe it’s a road you’ve traveled before but had long abandoned.
Maybe it’s a road you’ve never even tried.
If the developed pathway isn’t working for you, you can’t keep taking it every day.
It will tempt you with its familiarity.
It’s shiny lights and smooth pavement will lure you.
People who run to alleviate stress will still want to run.
But if running isn’t available, one must learn to take a new road.
One day, you may see through your own persona changes.
If they no longer serve you, you may have to find a back road to the real you.
The back roads may not be shining nor smooth.
It may be dark, and they may be scary, bumpy, or even treacherous.
You may not know where that road ends.
But I hope you consider taking it.
It might lead you straight to places where you never thought you could go.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley
