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Returning home to Rapid City following my recent trip to Longmont, Colorado, I found myself on an incredibly rural, dust-covered dirt road. I was nearing the Nebraska state line, following a truck that kicked up so much dust I couldn’t see past it. After they turned off onto a ranch, I passed a spray-painted sign that said, “Slow down, 25 mph. Cattle on road.”
How the hell did I end up here? One minute I was cruising along the highway, listening to an audiobook, and following the turn-by-turn instructions provided by Google Maps. The next, I was in the middle of nowhere. In short, I had no idea how I ended up on what may as well have been called Bob’s Road. What could I do but keep driving? Even after seeing a rattlesnake coiled up in the middle of the road.
Especially after seeing a rattlesnake coiled up in the middle of the road.
So I kept on driving, eventually pulling over to the side to pee into the sand, gravel, and dust. Besides that truck I followed for a while, the road was empty. My feet sunk into the sand as I stepped to the passenger side of my car and unleashed a torrent of urine.
As I voided my bladder, I pondered, out loud, why Google had routed me this way. I didn’t remember seeing this on the map when I first pulled up the directions. But I figured Google must have a reason. I may not know what the reason was—maybe it was avoiding an accident, construction, or just slow traffic—but there had to be a reason.
And I pondered, again aloud, “Maybe that’s how life works.” I was listening to Austin Kleon’s Steal Like an Artist Audio Trilogy and feeling philosophical, I suppose. Still, I could be onto something. When shit happens, we have seemingly random bad experiences, or things just don’t go well, is it possible that God, the universe, or whatever’s out there is just re-routing us through something that, while unpleasant, is a better way to go than the way we think we want to travel?
Sure, I had to drive slow on that road, but for all I know I avoided a bunch of traffic, or the potential to be in an accident. I simply can’t know. And sometimes work sucks, or my car won’t start, or I get injured… But is life taking me where I need to be via a better route?
Maybe these are just weird detours that are pointing us in the direction of where we actually need to go. I don’t know, and I probably never will, but a positive attitude is always a good thing.
And if nothing else, these thoughts were a good way to make the most out of a road that left the car covered in dust and gave me a lot of great views of cows along the way.