Every once in a while, a door slams shut in our lives. We bump our noses on the sudden realization that we will not be allowed through...that this particular avenue is no longer open to us. We have reached an insurmountable barrier...an end.
I suppose it's natural at this point to respond in stages. First, anger perhaps...pounding at the door, demanding to be allowed entry. When anger fails, there often comes grief. "Why can't I do or have this?" you might ask, or "How did the door come to be locked?" If you're lucky, this is the point at which you will discover the answers, and learn. Learning and understanding leads to acceptance. Acceptance allows for a new direction.
Unfortunately, some folks seem to get stuck in one of the first two stages. Some stand at the door and pound until their knuckles are bloody, desperately seeking tools to break through...the right lever...a big enough hammer...a screwdriver with just the proper fit for the hinges. I suppose if you want something that badly, there's nothing really wrong with sheer persistence...but you'd better make sure you really want to pay the price in blood, sweat and tears. In my own experience, once you hear the slam, the door rarely reopens. It might...but it might not, so you'd better be prepared for the possibility of failure, even after expending all that energy. If not, you might end up spending your last days doing nothing else but futilely beating at that door.
More common, and even less productive, is to be caught in the second stage. Too many folks lean on that door and mourn. Deprived of whatever it is that's beyond, they can find nothing in their hearts or souls to replace it. The lost path becomes the symbol of every hope and dream they've ever had. They become immobile...unable to accept the possibility of other directions...of other ways...and there are other ways.
You see, every time a door slams shut, at least one more opens...always. It's a big world, full of wonderful opportunities. New paths, new directions and new ways are constantly revealing themselves. Trouble is, if you're too busy pounding on that shut door, or blinded by tears in front of it, you'll never see or hear those new doors opening...and you will truly have walked your last step in life.
Denise Ruiz
Editor - Seeker Magazine