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“Americans believe in straight lines. They believe that all you have to do is get out there and get the job done one step after another. If you don’t do that, you are either lazy or incompetent.  American people seem to think that life is like a mission. That’s how they approach sports and war and sex – even love. That’s what they think when someone’s credit goes bad or there is an accident on the road.  Somebody veered off the straight and narrow. Remember Einstein. He said the connection between A and B was questionable at best and there is no such thing as a straight line.”

Craig Johnson

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Life is neither straight nor narrow (although it sure is a lot easier to think that way).

I think we all know this.

But I think we all forget it as we judge others.

Sometimes you can be hard working and extremely competent and still have some random ‘life’ accident. And be hurt. And be hurt bad enough that it becomes difficult to get back on the road.

Sorry folks, but that is true.

Life has put you on a diagonal path and sometimes you just get lost.

Also.

Because life isn’t always a straight line having an objective & a mission & a goal isn’t always a guarantee of success.

Nor is it always a measurement of success.

And maybe more importantly it isn’t a measurement of failure.

Well.

Both of those things, in isolation or combined, sure suggests navigating life is tough, doesn’t it?

It seems to make a lot of ‘extenuating circumstances’ in measuring life.

Yup.

Sorry folks <again>. But that is life.

Add in the fact that your own straight line you envision just may not be the only line to follow … oops … actually … it is NOT the only line you could follow. Well. What else can I say.

Life isn’t a mission. And it is rarely a straight line.

Nor should we always judge failure, or success, on whether someone hit some goal or objective.

Or whether they fulfilled a mission.

Oh. And not all missions are equal.

And, yeah, bad things do happen to good people.

Once again.

There are no straight lines to success or in life.

Maybe the real thought here is that all those curvy winding roads may be more difficult to navigate, and you obviously cannot go as fast as a straight line, but they can be far more interesting.

Maybe the real thought is life isn’t about lines and getting from A to B is rarely a straight and narrow line.

Maybe the real thought is we should just give people a break because while we may think we see a line, there was none and we all kind of make a lot of living Life up as we go.

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Written by Bruce