Often the trajectory of our lives is not a straight line. We think we are going toward a particular destination. Then life disrupts our plans and intentions. Ruth Feldman’s poem reminds us to trust the process of the deeper intelligence that is the foundation for everything that we do.

Detour

“I took a long time getting here,
much of it wasted on wrong turns,
back roads riddled by ruts.
I had adventures I never would have known
if I proceeded as the crow flies.
Super highways are so sure of where they are going:
they arrive too soon.

A straight line isn’t always the shortest distance
between two people.
Sometimes I act as though I’m heading somewhere else
while, imperceptibly, I narrow the gap between you and me.
I’m not sure I’ll ever know the right way,
but I don’t mind getting lost now and then.
Maps don’t know everything.”

Ruth Feldman
1911-2003