Closed doors—and open spaces

No doubt we all have had doors close for us—opportunities that we thought we could embrace and enjoy but that simply slipped away from us. And most of us have heard the sayings about windows opening when doors close.

Here's what educator and writer Parker J. Palmer has to say about that: "Each time a door closes, the rest of the world opens up. All we need to do is stop pounding on the door that just closed, turn around—which puts the door behind us—and welcome the largeness of life that now lies open to our souls. The door that closed kept us from entering a room, but what now lies before us is the rest of reality...."

Further, he goes on to say, "We must take the no of the way that closes and find the guidance it has to offer—and take the yes of the way that opens and respond with the yes of our lives."

Do you find that as helpful as I do? Palmer's words offer some new images for me: putting the closed door behind and seeing the open space ("the largeness of life") ahead. And I like his use of the terms "yes" and "no." I have found it to be true: When a door closes, a world full of possibilities emerge. A lot of potential resides in that space. And we get to make choices—and say yes to new possibilities.