7.05.2012

What If?

When a door closes, a window opens.  I cannot count the number of times this phrase has come up in conversation recently with clients, friends, and family.  And it's gotten me thinking...based on a myriad of unexpected events that have occurred in my own life and career over the past eight years and seeing where I am now, I've become thoroughly convinced that things do happen for a reason. 

In no way are we necessarily prepared for what it means to have a door closed on us or in our face, nor do we necessarily understand the reasons or see the "good" in certain things as they are happening to us in the moment in which they're happening, often painfully, often brutally. But as we allow ourselves to keep going and weather the changes, as we find whatever it is we need to regroup and breathe again, ultimately an unexpected conversation or an unexpected connection can suddenly turn things around in completely new directions for us. We're surprised, we're tested, we're unsure -- and we find strengths and ideas in ourselves we didn't know we had.  Moving through shadow to light can be strange, it can be exciting -- and I've found that we  need to keep ourselves as open to the What if?s as best we can because the results can be spectacular!

Windows open; look out and let life in!

(c) emma d dryden, drydenbks llc

22 comments:

  1. Emma, this is excellent. Thank you.

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  2. I struggle with this belief. Was my daughter meant to be paralyzed in a car accident? Then I look at our lives the past nine years and see all the good that has come out of her life using a wheelchair. I don't know if it was meant to be. But what I do know is that a positive attitude and being grateful for what we do have makes life spectacular. I guess you could say our window was blown away and we were forced to let life in. Thank goodness. ~Krista

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    1. Krista, Thank you for sharing this powerful response. Sometimes we have no choice but to let life in however it's going to get in - and how we deal with that is our challenge and, hopefully, the gift we've been given without realizing it.

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    1. Your windows are open WIDE right now, dear Lia. Allow the stream of light and air to go both ways, out from you into the world, and into you from the world.

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  4. Yes! Emma, that is a HUGE nugget of truth. One that I live by...not always easy for my heart when confused, disappointed, or devastated. I have found that when I let go and truly give up, my heart will lead me towards the light. Trusting the process of life is not for the faint of heart. Gratitude is my hearts saving grace.

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    1. Letting go is probably the hardest and most necessary thing we can do.

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  5. Thanks for the reminder, Emma. I didn't believe such things until recently. My thought was that if a door is slammed in your face, you're locked out. End of story. And then everything changed. I now believe that even if this new door leading to a new future closes, another will, in fact, open. I just have to be receptive to the possibility.

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  6. And sometime a post comes just at the right time.
    This is Susan of Pen and Ink. Everything I've ever let go of had claw marks all over it. But I am so greatful and so glad for the things I've let go of. I emailed your post to the rest of the group. Thank you!!!!

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  7. Emma,
    This is a lovely reminder post.
    I'm one that's never had the door 'slammed' in my face thought I can't seem to get it wide open. I won't give up even though sometimes I slow down. Thank heavens for wonderful friends that boost, boot and crank until I'm back on track. I would wish each one of you at least one of these friends. (Emma, you know one of mine well-she speaks highly of you)

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    1. Slowing down to regroup, assess, or catch one's breath is not the same as stopping. Slowing down to try to wedge the door or window open wider is all part of the process of growth. Thanks, Mona!

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  8. You're post comes at a pivitol time for me. Doors were slammed and I got my fingers stuck! It feels great to turn around and be able to say I'm lucky, to wave all my fingers, and know I wouldn't be in this special place...if.

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  9. Great encouraging post, Emma. Thanks! I, too, am going through change. Looks like we have to move. Your post goes with a verse I read in the Bible as well. All things work together for good!

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    1. With change can come such exciting new horizons over which to look out. Good luck!

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  10. Wow, am I being banged over the head with this message repeatedly this week! I've been struggling to let go of expectations and desires, and acknowledge that the "thorn in my side" is there not to weaken and wear me down, but to make me strong, and open my heart to possibilities unknown to me. Not to be cryptic, but this applies to so many areas of my life!Thanks for more confirmation, Emma. - Cynthia

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    1. Thanks, Cynthia. Staying open is key --

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  11. Yup. Yup. Yup. Thanks Emma! :) e

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  12. So achingly true, Emma. About a dozen ago, I spent 16 months working with a talented friend, creating a musical kids' variety show. Then her husband's sound studio burned to the ground. They ended up moving out of state for a desperately needed job, to get back on their feet financially. It's pretty hard to do a two-woman show by yourself. I was devastated. But that shift sent me in the direction I probably should have been going all along: writing children's books. It has been a (mostly) happy journey ever since. Thanks for your insightful post.
    Kim Norman

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    1. Kim thanks so much for sharing your experiences here. Seeing how successful you are, and seeing how much you share of yourself with others, no one would know you'd been through such challenges in the past. But that's what process and progress is all about - overcoming whatever it is we must and regrouping to keep going. Cheers!

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