It's a metaphor.

My feet slide against the loose gravel as I move forward down the trail. Crunch. Swish. Crunch. Crunch. Swish. Crunch. The rhythm lulls me into a form of hypnosis. I’m not worried about where I’m going. The trail will take me there. My journey is safe, familiar… repetitious. A steady ache fills my legs as I trek on down the trail. Crunch. Swish. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. I stop. Look around. There are trees on both sides of me, each the fraternal twin of the other—related somehow. Shockingly similar, somehow different. Humidity rolls off of the trees and beads on my forehead, curling my hair and placing the tangy flavor of sweat around my lips. I scratch the back of my neck. Birds chirp softly, scoring the soundtrack of my worries.

                Ahead of me the trail twists into two separate directions. The proverbial fork in the road has me just as a portending storm or a relentless river beating on the boulders. What just happened? I wonder. Moments prior my footing had been as certain as the July heat, my purpose as clear as a toddler’s eyes. Now my thoughts were just as muddy as that torrid river. What should I do? Where do I go from here?

                I pass the afternoon in that position. Humid sweat dripping into my furrowed brow, mosquitos tormenting my slick skin, birds patiently sing my thinking song. The trees aren’t even immune to my internal struggle, as they shiver in anticipation from the breeze that plays across their leaves. A sigh escapes my parted lips.

                I close my eyes, and a ball of sweat slides from my eyebrows as they relax. One foot moves forward. Crunch. My back toe lifts up. Swish. The other foot moves ahead. Crunch. And so my path is sealed. The trees sway and move across the fork behind me; it was as if the other trail never existed. There will be no turning around.

                My feet slide against the loose gravel as I move forward down the trail. Crunch. Swish. Crunch. Crunch Swish. Crunch. The rhythm lulls me into a form of hypnosis. I’m not worried about where I’m going. The trail will take me there.