“One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree.
‘Which road do I take?’ she asked.
‘Where do you want to go?’ was his response.
‘I don’t know’, Alice answered.
‘Then’, said the cat, ‘it doesn’t matter.’”
– Lewis Carroll
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There seem to be two different versions of this quote on the internet, I prefer this one (which appears to use more modern language) but both have the same key message at heart. In life, we all worry if we’re on the right path, if we’ve taken a sharp left when we should have gone right. If we chose to buy the tuna sandwich when we really wanted the chicken and mayo.
It’s human nature to question ourselves and worry about the road left untravelled. Experiments have even shown that our brains are happier when we have fewer choices, otherwise we spend a decent length of time worrying about all the options we didn’t choose.
I love how this quote applies such simplistic logic to a universal problem, and yet it’s an answer we don’t ever consider. It stumps you, because it’s kind of true. If you don’t know where you want to end up, you can’t go wrong by simply picking a path. And who knows where it will take you.
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My path is very clear this week. In two days we leave for Paris, London, and Scotland. Wahooooo!! If you’re not doing anything on Friday, August 8th, you should totally hop on a train to London :). We are meeting up with TBM that day.
And what an amazing path it is too! You’re going to have an incredible time, I just know it. 🙂 Of course, you will have to shower me and all your other blog followers with a tonne of photos from your trip so we can all live vicariously through you! It’s so cool to see other people’s impressions of London when they see it from another cultures perspective. Look forward to hearing about all your crazy adventures.
Oh and there will be thousands of photos :). Cross your fingers for good weather!!
Love that quote. How human it is of us to wonder what the other road would have been like…Personally, I just go on impulse most of the time!
Me to. I don’t know, us humans we think too much! It’s odd when you think about it how often our lives are driven my impulse, random whims or pure coincidence. 🙂
Love this! Whenever I have to make decisions I tend to spend waaaay too much time thinking things through, so this is actually great advice for me!
So glad you liked it, Holly! I am exactly the same as you, I spend too much time thinking, mulling and considering. I think I need to stick this one up on my wall to remind me. 🙂
I like that you chose a positive interpretation of this quote. I think I sometimes we get overwhelmed feeling we have to have direction/purpose. It’s nice to be reminded that adventure awaits no matter what we choose.
Thanks, Alena! To be honest, I never even thought that there was a negative interpretation, it instantly hit me as positive. I mean, it is terrifying sometimes when you don’t have a goal to head towards or you’re not sure what you want to do with your life, but sometimes I feel we forget that it can be good to sit back and see where life takes us – within reason of course. But then again, I’ve always been a sucker for a good adventure. 😉
Good for you Becky. Maybe it’s just my mood that made me see the dark side. I’m all for seeing the adventure in life.
Ohh no, I hope everything is okay with you? X You know, nothing cures a bad mood better than a book, at least for a little while. 🙂
Don’t worry, I have these super inspired the world is brilliant seize the day moments and then I go hide in a cupboard for 4 hours going SCARY, MEAN WORLD.
Sums up my life really!
Great imagery Becky. Brought a laugh to my desk. Hope the rest of the week (at least) is more seize the day than hide in the cupboard.
Haha, thank you. Glad it made you laugh. 🙂
I will endeavour to stay away from cupboards.
If you don’t know where you’re going, all roads lead there. That quote was on the back of a toilet door in one of the bathrooms at college. It stuck with me. 😉
Ha I love that! What a cute saying to stick on a toilet door, much better than the usual rubbish, lol.
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I really love this quote, and I really like all these little gems Carroll put in Alice in Wonderland. It’s just so true. And it gives motivation to find out what we DO want (:
Glad you like this one as well, Celine! I haven’t read Alice in Wonderland yet but I do own it and I’m really looking forward to reading it. 🙂 I completely agree.
Me and decision making do not get along. I never know if I’m on the right path and I constantly worry and fret over things that I haven’t done or decisions that I haven’t made. I should bear this quote in mind! Brilliant choice 🙂
I think a lot of us struggle with what we should be, what we actually are and where we should be going in life! There are so many choices so how are we supposed to know which one is right?! It’s a constant struggle. I think we both needs this one in bold writing on our walls, LOL. 😀