The old saying goes “when life closes a door, it opens a window.”
It seems life throws us one curve ball after another and forces change into our lives. Whether it’s making the decision to leave a job, end a relationship, change majors or move to a new home, it always feels like this time of year comes with closing a lot of doors.
Can we say it’s time to open a window if we keep looking back through the peephole?
It is only human nature to second guess big life decisions. What if you were only days away from getting that big promotion or a month shy of an engagement and you decided to walk away?
We often find ourselves looking back and what we are leaving behind instead of ahead at life’s newest adventure. Do all big decisions require closure to lock that door for good?
My life is often a flurry of changes; it is rare that I ever rest on my laurels and just let things happen. I find more often, now in my thirties, that I fear shutting those doors completely in life. I am guilty as charged to being a second guesser.
I often make decisions that might fit my current need, but not the long-term goal and am notorious for staring through the peephole of the doors I have chosen to close. In a nut shell, I’m presently a hot mess.
I have recently made several large life changes and as I sit here typing with my coffee in hand and my cat on my lap I am repeatedly saying, “How the hell did I get here? Did I make the right moves? Are these all giant mistakes? When is the other shoe going to drop?”
I suppose for an advice columnist I should work more on getting my own stuff together before I tell people what they should be doing, but I’m at an impasse on my own life and have always been better at telling other people what to do (or so I am told).
My friends all urge me to step away from the peephole, that new adventures are coming and that I need to stop fearing the future. Looking back never moved anyone ahead and there were reasons I decided to choose the paths I walked.
So, I am moving forward. I am cautiously ready to see what life has planned for me. I am going to open windows and feel the breeze of new beginnings on my face. It’s undeniably terrifying as I am a creature of habit; however, it is necessary. Easter and Spring are the times of rebirth. I am ready to start a new life … I think. Stay tuned.
