Why Isn't Opportunity Knocking on My Door?

It's going to be great when it does.

I’m waiting for Opportunity to knock.

It’s going to be great when it does.

The world will be a different place – packed full of possibilities.

I’ll be different too. My mind will be bursting with ideas so bright they’ll light up the night sky. Every cell will pulse with frenetic fervor. I’ll be sleepless with excitement.

I’ll run as fast as de Castella on steroids.

I’ll leap as high as Nijinsky on uppers.

I’ll write with the honesty of Gilbert and the precision of Hemingway.

When opportunity knocks.

While waiting for the sound that will change everything, I’m twiddling thumbs that will soon require intense medical treatment for RSI.

Nothing happens. Opportunity may be knocking, but it’s not doing so on my door.

Milton Berle, TV’s first superstar, once quipped:

If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.

Ah! That’s what’s wrong. I don’t have a door for Opportunity to knock on.

I must build a door.

But what sort of door?

I want Opportunity to think I’m important, so I’ll create a thick wooden door with stained glass inserts on both sides and a giant gold number 1 in the centre. But perhaps a glass door would be best. Then I can see who or what is knocking. I don’t want to open the door to the wrong Opportunity. What about a steel door? That would protect me in case Opportunity becomes resentful if I don’t open to its knocking.

Then again, a revolving door could be a good idea, especially if I accidentally let in the wrong Opportunity. In it comes – and – voila! – out it goes again. Yes, this is an option worth serious thought.

Revolving door. Photo by Craig Whitehead @sixstreetunder on Unsplash

Should the door be thick or thin? Tall or short? Wide or narrow? Hinged or sliding? Arched or oblong?

What colour is most welcoming? Will it require a peephole, letterbox opening, and keyhole?

And then there’s the issue of the handle. Glass, brass or rustic? Ornate or plain? Would a Georgian knob with a Brookshire Trim do the job?

The choices leave me as flummoxed as a fairy in hellfire.

My mind whirls with yet another worrisome question:

What sort of knock will I respond to?

Tentative tapping? Brisk raps? Measured beats? Authoritative thumps? Thunderous blows?

Deep down I know this barrage of questions is just a delaying tactic. I’m deliberately missing the figurative nature of Berle’s words.

I don’t need to build a literal door for Opportunity to knock on.

I am the door.

Opportunity knocks on me.

In countless ways.

Every day.

So I’ll open the door that is myself.

And Opportunity can walk right in!

I am the door Opportunity knocks on.

With love, Marlane