Taking a Detour can be Amazing.

You are the passenger waiting for a train and finding out it already left.

You are downhearted because the 15 minutes it takes to reach your destination was already plentiful.

Another train strolls in, this one taking 50 minutes till arrival.

You grumble, but you have no choice. All that matters is reaching, whether with a happy or sodden heart.

You sit down, eyes on the window, deciding to let your thoughts fly into imagination, where despair has finally taken over your boggling mind.

Five minutes into your journey, you notice the bright pink of a sakura tree’s leaves.

Your eyebrows spring up, shocked by the colour that catches your eye.

You raise your bent head and notice a lineup of trees, some bright and beautiful, some quirky, some unreasonably like you.

You sit up and enjoy the story now filling your heart, the brightness now emanating in your spirit, showing you that beauty resides everywhere, even on a 50-minute ride.

You would never have noticed such magic if you had caught the 15-minute train. Sure, you would be fast, but your heart wouldn’t be as light as it now is.

You wouldn’t have perceived the beauty that now dwells in you.

This is how detours can be.

Fearful.

Crippling.

But not the end.

You take turns to find new ones.

You lose a leg to force out wings.

Nothing is lost as long as you keep finding.

And everything you notice on your journey will be of use.

So I send you this message because it is also for me.

I get fearful too, but I am enjoying the journey, and the beauty of it is I’m continually surprised.

Each day, each moment, there’s always something to be thankful for.

Likewise, the detour can be terrifying for you but also amazing.

I have come with this message so you can share it with others.

If your heart is touched, reach out that palm of empathy in your daily life.

Have a lovely day, my dear friend, and see you next week.