Many of us have heard of the phrase when one door closes another one always opens. It's that age-old saying that says when something doesn't work hopefully something better will come along and make it all worthwhile. There have been a lot of doors closing this last month, and everyone feels it. Jobs, travel, events, and plans made months ago are suddenly up in the air. It's a strange time, it’s a time of social isolation, quarantine, and general Unknowing. But maybe, if we turn our heads from the closing doors for just a moment we might see some unsuspecting opportunities greeting us.
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In honor of my Grandmother
Georgiana Bruyere |
I love spending time with elders, and during this time I have been spending even more time with them, in a quarantine safe sorta way. All of their doors are closed right now for their own health and safety. They're isolated even more than usual into their own rooms, houses, not allowed visitors, to go to church, and not able to go out in general. In the assisted living facility I visit I get to visit many people isolated in their apartments. I spend time with them I ask them how they're doing and a completely different world is opened up to me with every door that I open. Recently I have been able to ask them questions like in what moments in your life have you been the happiest, what makes you feel the most fulfilled, and what makes you feel the most loved. The answers pour out of them. I simply have to ask one question and 45 minutes later I’ve heard the most incredible response. It is quite possibly some of the richest and most fruitful time I have ever experienced in my life. What started out as the desire to be helpful when they needed extra hands, turned into me learning new meanings of life. Hanging on every word - not able to breathe because I didn't want to disrupt the magic of the moment. Laughing so hard that I begin to cry, crying so hard that it became funny. War stories, love stories, sharing of art, travel, hobbies, you name it. We shared an emotional intimacy, even six feet apart, a special “I’ve got nothing to lose kind of candor” that we all save only for rare moments.
Every door I opened was a completely different world even though their circumstances are similar. Their internal world was completely different. Every door I opened felt like I was stepping into Narnia and I didn't know which book I was in. There are many ways to approach crises and I certainly don't know the answers, but I can tell you inside each of those doors the response and reaction was shockingly different. Sometimes when one door closes a hundred doors open, as literally was the case in my situation. I'm not saying it's easy, I'm not saying that I would like it to last forever for the elders especially, but I am saying perhaps I might look back at this time with fondness and as extremely valuable. A time when I was able to step into many different peoples worlds and gleam the most valuable wisdom of their existence. An extraordinary and unique gift that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. This is a difficult time for many, and I wish you and all of your loved ones peace, health, and happiness...and if any doors close in your life may a thousand new ones open.
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