✮ Doors and Us ✮
“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” — Vincent van Gogh
His world begins with a mop.
The frayed and loose strings of the mop head that washes the floor, scuffed with the day’s elements and stained with indifference by the feet that walk on them. The surface looks clean again, and the love that beams from them is an understatement. For the rest who walk through those halls, they would never notice, even as they see their reflection on the polished surface. People may cast their eyes on the art hanging on the walls, but not on the floor. Who does? Who cares? Someone is pocketing change to do the dirty job. His skin might as well be made of glass. Nobody sees him, the person wearing overalls behind a yellow sign. Unless, of course, his services are required. Someone spilled something in the pantry. What is his name again?
Even so, he didn’t grumble. Didn’t flip off the pesky person behind her back. Didn’t mock her for the way she talks. He simply said, “I’ll be with you shortly.” He loved the opportunity. Somewhere in the past, people didn’t look him in the eye. His name was preceded by a title. A title that meant nothing here. He neither folded nor bent. Neither griped about the luminous appeal of the title he didn’t have. He was often heard saying, “How can one be expected to be blessed with such big responsibilities if one cannot be entrusted with a modest task, though unworthy of one’s skill, and not do it very well?” Quotable. Grade A philosophy. It made sense.
One day, he left. Thanked everyone. Not one dry eye in the room. Years later, he popped in to say hi. He held the firmest handshakes. His eyes in sync with his classic smile. He walked the hall every morning. Feet shod in Derby, brogue, or Oxford daintily slapping the floor. Heads would sometimes turn his way when he stopped, dug in his pocket, and wiped off something on the floor. Now, why would the CFO do that? He shrugged. “Creature of habit,” he remarked.
So when the new guy, who kept leaving the trash behind the door for the morning shift to deal with, told everyone that the man above couldn’t relate to him, laughter ensued.
If a door is offered, big or small, take it. Be grateful, and you will never feel empty.
Whether it’s ego or shame, people pass up the chance that comes from humble beginnings. God often leaves doors of opportunity half our size, and most of the time, people fail to recognize them because they are unwilling to bend and squirm their way through. It is only by being grateful that we can walk through these doors or windows, and we cannot expect them to warp themselves to fit us. It’s a matter of adjustment and spirit. If by humility we will be led into a better tomorrow, then crawl through if we must. Fortune favors the bold, and the boldest course of action is to have the courage to be humble enough to learn what we don’t fully understand.
You see opportunity in pleasing people, but pleasing people will get you nowhere. No matter how hard you try. Of the thousand good things you have done, some people— especially the entitled ones—will perceive them as your obligation to them and nothing more. Sadly, when your usefulness has run its course, they will see you as incompetent. Instead, be just and be the best of who you are.
Opportunities are only valid when people are impressed, wrong! The minute you stop impressing people is the moment you set yourself free. Many of us believe that we are what we wear, or at least we try. It’s not what we wear that gives us personality; it’s our character that defines who we are, no matter what we wear. Stripped bare, are you no longer who you are? The true meaning of value lies in who we are.
Surprise and impress yourself with something new every day. Poke it with a deep sense of wonder and curiosity until a new school of thought and an array of new talents burst inside you. You see, even doors can be walls that keep people out. It’s not that they don’t have the key. It’s not that they don’t have what it takes. But some are passive. Their door isn’t glossy enough for them. Yet, when it comes to doors that waste their time, they would gladly pay to get through them.
Leave your ego at the doorstep, and when you do, you get to learn something. That’s what usually gets in the way of people; many of us are too good to be modest. An example of this is when people get laid off. A number will never cease to complain and will eventually bury themselves in the grief of what was.
Sometimes, all it takes is to take little steps and try to run again.
Transpose! Don’t stagnate believing that you will always be invincible. If the magic is no longer there, there is no sense in dwelling on the past long gone. Avenues are waiting to be explored, only if you are willing to lose sight of the past, so that they become material.
Our lives are littered with doors that often lead to new adventures and, with such, challenges. Some keys are not meant to be in your hands; sometimes, the only key that unlocks doors leading to your destiny is you.
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