Life isn't like a box of chocolate, is it?

I can still remember the famous line from the 1994 movie, Forrest Gump, when the lead character (played by Tom Hanks) says “My mom always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.”

In a box of chocolates (I am guessing in this case, is the kind that comes with a variety of flavours), I would probably be able to enjoy 7 to 8 out of 10 flavours, whatever they may be. Maybe one, two or three may not be to my liking but overall, the experience of eating them would be a pleasant one, unless the chocolates are low quality ones. And they are usually not a surprise because there will be a sheet of paper with a list of flavours inserted somewhere in the box or on the box itself, with its corresponding shape which we can refer to and choose to our taste.

Life isn't like that, is it?

As much as I would like to think that life is a box of chocolate, I think in reality, life is more like a road or a path, one that leads to somewhere, sometimes nowhere but it is up to us to make the best of it. Sometimes we know where we are headed to but at most times, we'll never know what lies ahead and what obstacles we may face along the way.

At times, we may feel like we are on a highway, a smooth drive but it gets a little mundane and boredom kicks in, and at times, the road gets a little too narrow or too steep and hazardous that it takes a whole lot of effort to go through, even just a short distance. Sometimes we find shelter from the rain and sometimes, we just have to keep moving until we find a place to stop and rest.

Sometimes, the road is a scenic one and sometimes, nothing much around. Ever so often, we may reach a stream or a quicksand or a muddy path, and we will need to tread carefully around it or find a way to get past it, so that we do not fall and drown. But sometimes, we may accidentally step into one and risk drowning or dying while we decide if we want to give up or we do all we can to save ourselves.

The choices we have? They are like our crossroads, aren't they? We reach a crossroad and we have to decide which path to take. Left, right, front or should we make a u-turn back? Sometimes, we may think we know where the road leads but the fact is, we may be caught off guard or be thrown a curve ball. Then, we would be forced to reach another crossroad or a fork, make a detour, and choose another path to take, hoping for the best. Sometimes, it is too late to make a u-turn and all you can do is to move forward.

Life can be tough. Many of us have experienced and may be experiencing hard times, that test our mental and physical strength, sometimes to a point of hopelessness. Throughout our life, we have choices to make and in some cases, circumstances are as such that choices were made for us.

Every choice we make, or made for us, is a road that leads to somewhere. At the point when we need to make a choice, we are at a crossroad. Sometimes we do not know where the road leads to and sometimes we do. Sometimes, it feels like the right road to turn to at that time and sometimes, the road ended up to be the wrong one but by the time we realize it, we are far too deep into the road.

When that happens, we have to make more choices. Do we turn back? Can we turn back? Or do we keep going and take another road along the way, that hope that it will be a better road? We sometimes need to adapt and be creative, to turn the wrong choices to be a right one for us, or one that we hope will be the right one in a near future.

Life is not really a box of chocolate, maybe sometimes it is, when things are pleasant. Essentially, life is like a road, or some may say a journey. We may know our destination, but we may not be able to anticipate the challenges thrown at us along the way. But at every crossroad we are at, we can only hope that we choose the right path and if it is a wrong one at first, I'd say to try to make it a right path for us, because hey, as long as we are still alive, we might as well make the most and the best out of it, in whatever circumstances we may be in or we will live miserably for the rest of our lives.