It's very common to experience our life as a direction and a path that is either smooth or rough, or clear and direct or full of obstacles and difficulties. And it's that dichotomy between life that's proceeding smoothly versus a life that's full of difficulties that's a basic separation we need to engage in Zen practice. We all have an idea of what going smoothly ought to be. Being happy rather than sad, healthy rather than sick, in a relationship rather than alone. There are many versions of either ors that embody this idea of going straight versus encountering twists and turns or obstacles. How do you go straight on a road of many curves?