August is here and many of us are scrambling to try to get in one last trip before the summer ends.  We have booked flights, made hotel reservations and located our passport. Now all that is left is to pack and head to the airport.  The excitement is building.  We can’t wait to get to our destination, but most of us would rather skip the airport piece of the process.  The long lines at check-in and the undressing and redressing at security leave a lot to be desired.  It’s unfortunate that, “Beam me up Scottie,” is not a transportation option right now.

Most of us who travel on a regular basis know that trips can involve a bit of hassle. Even with the best preparation trips don’t always go as planned.  Sometimes our flight is delayed.  Other times we make unexpected stops, or have to change our routing.  And sometimes we just plain miss our flight.  I confess.  I have missed a flight or two in my life.  And when the unexpected (and usually the unwanted) happened, trying to get where I thought I needed to be when I thought I needed to be there was challenging.  But when it was all said and done, the interruption was not the end of the world, even if I didn’t make it to my destination on my original time schedule.

Lets face it.  Detours are a part of life.  Since we can’t always avoid them, we may as well look for the opportunities in them and enjoy them as much as possible.  Sometimes taking a detour or getting lost on the way gets us where we need to be at the right time, or leads us to a better destination than where we originally planned to go to.  Sometimes a detour leads us to our dream destination, even if we don’t recognize it at first glance.

So the next time your travel plans (or your life plans) are rearranged by unforeseen and perhaps unwanted circumstances, try to take it in stride and see what opportunity may be present.  Finding the positive in unwanted changes sometimes requires more than a quick glance, but digging deep and looking below the surface can often unearth hidden treasure.