Motivational Monday #56 - Detours

I have a dear friend whose husband was just diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.  For an man who has always been healthy and active, this came as a shock.  It was not the path this family expected to take.  It was not the road they expected to travel.  This definitely qualifies as a detour.

Detours are crazy things.  By definition they take us off the path we were on and lead us into unknown, unexpected and often unwanted directions. Sometimes we get placed back on our intended path, but very often we continue in a far different direction.

Detours are not always bad, in fact they often have amazing outcomes.  They introduce us to things we did not know existed and offer us opprotunities we didn't know we could have.  Other times these detours test our strength and beat on our spirit, but leave us stronger and more capable than when we started.

I think detours in life can be what you make them.  When you realize you are headed a direction you didn't expect, you can either attempt to get back on track or choose to learn from this new path.  Sometimes detours are out of our control, but sometimes they are a result of our actions.

I don't have all the answers for the detours in our lives, but my suggestion is that you learn the lessons available and keep moving forward.  There is a distinct difference between a detour and a dead end, but I think many of us forget that simple detail.