Nature rarely creates straight lines because efficiency has more than one shape.

Rivers meander, branches fork, coastlines wander. None of it is the shortest route and all of it is efficient by some other measure: material used, energy spent, resilience under stress. Straightness is only optimal if speed of transit is the sole criterion, which it rarely is.

When you find yourself insisting on the direct path, ask what you are optimizing for. If the answer is only speed, check whether that is really what matters here. The winding route is often cheaper, sturdier, and better suited to what you actually want.