The Beauty of a Crooked Path

Lombard Street in San Francisco has a beautiful way of slowing anyone down. With each curve it insists that you take your time, turn your head, and take in the view at each bend... and oh, the views it offers!

Sometimes the path between two points is not a straight line — but a curved one, full of perspective, reflection, challenges, surprises, and reward.

This iconic tourist street here in San Francisco has given me pause lately. It reminds me that perhaps the shortest distance between two places isn’t always a straight line. Maybe it’s a crooked one — full of perspective, reflection, small challenges, unexpected turns, and even rewards. And, to be honest, I've really needed that redirection right now.

A winding path gives us time to breathe. To notice where we are. To be present rather than efficient. Each curve is a moment to pause, to look again, to see another viewpoint, to trust that moving forward doesn’t have to happen right away or linear to really be happening.

CREATIVE PROMPT

Take a walk today and choose a non-straight path. What do you notice when you don’t perhaps take the most efficient route? What changes in you when you allow the detour?

Print & “Color-Your-Own” Postcard

Here is your very own printable postcard of that famous crooked street as a reminder to take the winding road instead of the direct route and offer you a moment to be a little creative. It may in fact get you where you need to be with more clarity!

P.S. And a little fun fact: while Lombard Street is often called the “crookedest street in the world,” it’s not even the most crooked street in San Francisco. That honor belongs to Vermont Street, tucked into the Potrero Hill neighborhood, a little reminder that there’s can be more to see if you’re willing to wander a little further.