More often than I should, I blindly trust GPS directions. That is, I don’t preview the route in full detail before setting off.

I recently found myself on a winding mountain road. As I drove, I wondered if the trip would’ve been easier had I chosen the slightly longer (but much straighter) highway route instead. Even as I thought this, I caught myself. I wasn’t appreciating the changing leaves and the mountainous landscape; I was musing about what it would have been like to be on another road.

It seems like an appropriate metaphor. There’s so much beauty and wonder that surrounds us. To spend time imagining paths we didn’t take is to ignore the gifts of the path we’ve chosen.