Saturday, December 15 - Paths Straight

The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’
~ Luke 3.4

​It’s a mathematical law that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. But that law doesn’t always translate well to other areas of life.  Whether it’s pausing to smell the roses or taking a detour on the way to reaching some goal, many of my favorite moments occurred when I got off the most direct route.
 
It seems humans are the only species that insist on making paths straight, even when it requires leveling mountains and filling in valleys. Animal paths are never straight. They wonder back and forth to find the best route without rearranging their entire environment. Even forces of nature seem disinclined to go directly from one spot to another. Left to their own devices, rivers are notoriously crooked, sometimes nearly flowing in circles as they find the lowest route to the sea.
 
When we travel, I love finding a crooked road to ride on, like this one in Ireland. It allows me to feel like I am a part of my environment, instead of encouraging me to rush by and miss all the details that make a scene fantastic.

---

​#NextGen
ACT: Take a walk with someone you love. Try going on a path you don’t usually travel. Don’t take the straight path but go on one that is more winding. You just might see something new!