Parallel lines or parallel lives

Parallel lines or parallel lives?

I was walking through our small local town, early morning this week, on my hour of exercise.

Stepping off the pavement to socially distance from someone coming towards me, I noticed the double yellow lines on the road.  It got me thinking about parallel lives.

My favourite movie is ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman’ with Jeremy Irons and Meryl Streep.  The premise of the story is about making a decision that takes you one way in life but what happens if you had made a different decision, where would life have taken you?

I came across the dvd again at the weekend, so I think the thought had been stuck in my head.

At times, I would wonder if I had made different decisions where might I have ended up.

What if I hadn’t accepted that job or done that degree or what if I had done something different?  What if I had married him?  Big decisions that would have changed the course of my life.  However it is often the small insignificant ones that alter slowly, the path we are on.

Broken lines 

The yellow lines were partially broken, which again seemed to resonate with my own life, when times were rough and I wasn’t sure where I was going or what I was doing.  

They even converged at one point, and that made me ponder on whether we might make a decision and go down one route but that we would come back again to the same path, enabling us to change our original decision or confirm it was still the right one.

Reflection

I think this lock down has been a time of reflection for many people.

We are taking stock. Noting what we want to be different in our lives.  I hope also what we are grateful for.   

Maybe remembering  those long forgotten dreams that faded as life took over. 

Maybe we are realising that we are not where we thought we would be at this time in our lives.

Or just maybe we are very grateful that we have reached where we want to be, and we want the path ahead to be stronger.

No regrets

There is no point I have learnt in looking back and regretting a decision I have made.  I am where I am meant to be today.  So are you!   If I choose to change something, then it is from this point, and this time, because it is the right thing for me. 

Decisions to change the path don’t have to be big ones, they could be slight tweaks.  

It is possible that we might get caught up in thinking we must change, that this lockdown is forcing us to make changes in our lives.

Remember it might just be a tweak that is needed, not a fundamental change.

Life is a journey and we make decisions at each stage along the way, because they right for us at that point in time..

Thank you Barbara, for the reminder and the lovely analogy

  With love, Lynda

If you are finding things difficult please reach out and talk to someone. It is tough, any change is difficult.

Barbara and I, and many other people around you, will do what we can to support you. Please reach out. Ask for help. Talk to others. 

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