Remember high school geometry where you were taught that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line? Pythagorean theorems and all that. (I feel so smart typing that word – Pythagorean- like the scarecrow at the end of the Wizard of Oz exercising his new found brain. Go ahead, you say it.) I thought that was an immutable fact. But here’s a writer in Scientific American suggesting that while the hypotenuse may be the shortest distance on football fields and flat surfaces, spheres and other shapes are a different story.
Hmm. A possible flaw in the logic of mathematics?
I also figured that if that straight line was the shortest it was also the fastest and smartest. After all, that’s what works on a hectic Saturday morning when we are logistically challenged to find the best way to get all those errands done without driving around in circles. However, when it comes to the rest of our lives…well, hopefully our life is not one big errand and it’s certainly not a football field (contrary to the ardent fans who emerge every fall.) So, maybe the straight line theory doesn't work very well there. Even if life were a flat surface or, okay, a football field, I’m starting to realize that those straight lines don’t always get us to our best place.
In our quest for efficiency, speed or least resistance, we leap from A to B; we rush on to our next chapter or job or whatever, rarely coming to a full stop. I don’t know about you but this has not served me well. Lord knows, I tried. I went at full gallop for more years than I care to admit. Full speed, head down. Ramming through any obstacles, doing what I had to do. Do more; be productive. Don’t waste time. As long as I was moving I felt I was getting from point A to point B.
So what is the smartest distance between two points? It's the one that might take a little longer.
To get there you may have to slow down. I know I want to slow down. I need to slow down, maybe even stop for a bit. I want to shorten my horizon, be more curious and okay with not knowing what’s beyond the bend. I suspect slowing down might get me to the right place faster than taking the shortest distance. How about you?
I want to sense my way, be alert to what works for me and jazzes me. It’s like turning off a light and making your way out of a dark room. Suddenly your senses are heightened. Do you notice how you detect an object as you near it? You slow down, adjust your path and move on with minimal bumps and bruises. Do you know what I mean? That’s the way I want to proceed. After all, the shortest distance is not so short if you fall down or have to go back and retrace your steps.
When the way to point B – okay, let’s call it your next act – is continually adjusted/fine-tuned to your own personal specifications, the end result will be so much better suited for you. Because, in the end, on the the way to point B, it’s all about what’s best for you, what makes the most sense for you at your place in life. And the only way to get to that best spot is by sensing your way, using your intuition and the creative power you were born with.
Need help with that? Need to learn about the small steps of Kaizen? Need some inspirational muses? Contact me. We’ll find the way to point B together.
