“As the crow flies.”
“The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.”

A well-known story involves the installation of sidewalks on college campuses. For years, new buildings had been constructed and landscaped with pre-designed walkways that accentuated the overall campus aesthetics. The problem with this approach was that the students did not use the paved walks. Instead, paths that represented the shortest routes to the new facilities developed in the newly laid sod. The story ends with an obvious solution to this landscaping dilemma. At some universities, when a new building is constructed and opened, the sidewalks are poured after the students have had the opportunity to beat a path that represents the straightest line to the new facility. This example most likely represents an innate grasp of efficiency of motion, rather than a display of the mastery of geometry. Yet on our own life journeys, we easily wander off in various directions, ending up on a detour to a life of impact.

A general lack of enthusiasm and overall sense of dread can attest to some major roadblocks, or detours, in your life journey. A favorite family vacation story recounts what is now referred to as the Wyoming Detour. While traveling on a major state road, signs alerted to upcoming road construction and a detour—not a pleasant thought when visiting an unfamiliar region. What we discovered as we approached this work zone was that the pavement had been completely removed and the detour was a drive through a field! Has your life gotten off track and ended up far afield?