One summer, a Presbyterian pastor took his family to Scotland. His daughter had two requests for the trip: She wanted to play golf, and she wanted to cuddle sheep.

            The pastor had no idea how he was going to fulfill either of these requests. But early in the trip, they arrived on the Isle of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland. This island is where St. Columba founded his monastery in the sixth century and is the point from which he took Christianity to mainland Scotland.

            When they reached the lobby of the St. Columba Hotel, the pastor asked the receptionist about golf. The man at the desk said, “We have an 18-hole course on Iona. Balls and clubs are available here in the hotel, free of charge. There are no fees for the golf course, but I have to warn you — the groundskeepers are sheep and cows.”

            He wasn’t kidding. The course is maintained by farm animals who graze it all day. They also fertilize it! So both of the pastor’s problems were solved in an instant. His daughter played a round of golf, and she got a chance to cuddle sheep.

            Iona is a lovely, green and windswept island — a place where you can practice what could be called “sheep devotion.” But Iona is definitely the exception, rather than the rule. Most places around the world are defined by “work devotion.”

Work devotion

            Take Silicon Valley, for example. This region in California is full of brutally competitive workplaces that demand l

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