Most part of natural processes are nonlinear. Electromagnetic waves or sun's radiation is mostly sinusoidal, normal trees all around us are nonlinear.
The concept of a straight line is a pure theoretical one.Meaning there are no straight lines in the nature,nor they can be created
The question only makes sense for a cartesian space. After Einstein we know that gravity bends space itself.
A straight line is a Euclidean concept, It can only be defined in a Euclidean space, an affine space with Euclidean metric. In a more general geometry, the concept of geodesic replaces that of a "straight line".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geodesic
A geodesic can be viewed as a curve in the space where an observer traveling along this curve at at constant speed will feel no acceleration forces. On the earth for a example they are the "great circles."
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