Follow the Stream

I think that many people's decisions about life are because they want to follow a pattern of succession, one which they know will lead to a place they think they should be going. One of my friends and I were discussing the issue of marriage. For many people it follows the dating card. You find someone, you get comfortable with them and then you marry them. I remember during senior year in college, everyone was either getting engaged or hoping to get engaged. It followed the stream of life--graduation from college, getting a job and then getting married. All of this accompanied by a house with a picket fence. It just happened that way.
My buddy was telling me that he didn't want to follow this route, however because he was caught up in the whole evolution of a relationship, he found himself going in that direction. My advice? If you are feeling this way, how are you going to feel in 10 years, two kids, three car payments and a mortgage. You see, you can't just follow a stream to the mouth of the river, but you have to explore the woods around it. What if that river doesn't really lead anywhere? Then where would you be? Am I making any sense, or am I only justifying my comment to my buddy to "break it off". By the way, the chick already bought her wedding dress. However, no date was set and no invitations were sent out. So I think he's going to nip it before the hor's d'overs get picked.
Anyway, my point is, I think that you can't go down a beaten path, unless that beaten path has good landmarks. Otherwise you just end up getting lost, even if you had a map.