Roads

All roads lead to Rome.

A good destination will have many roads leading to it. The destination itself only symbolizes a brief moment in time. Rome is now but a shadow to its former glory, yet there are still many roads that lead to Rome today, in a physical sense.

Roads are symbolic of the paths we take in life. The physical roads still lead to Rome, and many people sing praises about how our ancestors took pride and built these quality roads. However, roads are only as meaningful as the people that choose to use them. The roads that lead to Rome still exist today, but less people walk on them to arrive to their desired destination.

I am walking down my backyard, freshly leveled with a garden hoe, over a period of a weeks. As I contemplate to level this further with a tamper, it occurred to me that I already began my journey of building a road with the simple act of walking.

Roads are first formed by people walking on the same paths over generations. As these paths become safer and the destination rewarding, a natural road is built simply from footsteps. We see these paths laid out by hikers who traverse paths laid out by earlier hikers. The roads to Rome were built because both the journey and destination was rewarding in its time. These roads are still present today, but without future generations walking in its path, it is not something that will last.

Thinking back about the road I intend to build in my backyard, I am reminded that I am on a journey in life. I am choosing paths walked by friends and families, avoiding paths that seem foreign and uncertain, and creating new paths when I am breaking through barriers. All during this process, roads are created, and this makes me wonder again what makes a good road, a road that lasts and provides value for others, and a road that leads to a new Rome.