Opportunity doesn’t just knock: it kicks the door down and demands you pay attention.
My younger daughter used to say it in a different way, after some incredible dream had presented itself to her all wrapped up in a bow. In her words, “Opportunity isn’t just knocking at my door–it’s in my kitchen making cobblers.” She still has that young innocence and faith in things just…happening…that anyone older and with more world experience has a harder time believing because they’ve tasted enough disappointment in life that they dare not raise their hopes.
When I hung up the phone after a surprise call, two things struck me as epiphanies, thought the second one took a little longer to work through my feelings.
- When things line up for miracles to happen and dreams to come true, they happen very, very quickly. There is no stopping it. There is no lingering or struggling to make it happen. All the obstacles suddenly clear and the path is right there, so clear. No amount of manipulation or strategizing on my part for years in advance can make those miracles happen. When everything lines up, it’s right and it’s right right then. In an instant. Regardless of the years of waiting, the result is a sudden “overnight success.” You can’t say, “I’ve been waiting a long time and paid my dues,” or “It’s time for this to happen so it has to happen any day now.” When it’s time, it’s time and it’s a time not of my own making or choosing. It’s just suddenly there.
- When the opportunity arises for something I really want but didn’t believe or didn’t know was possible, I’m meant to take it. End of discussion.
During the entire call, as a wonderful possibility was being laid forth for me to consider, I knew I was at a crossroads in this particular relationship. I felt, based on how I was raised and how I’ve had life modeled for me among my peers, that I should take some time out and focus on the issues, consider which road to take. I should have to struggle more with this decision.
In my spirituality, crossroads are sacred places. To me, they are an intersection of choices. A chance to take a new path without turning around and retracing my steps. Much the same as a fork in the road, and yes, I usually do take the road less travelled because I tend to stray outside the norm to satisfy my thirst for adventure. The road ahead is just as unknown, but it’s an opportunity I didn’t have before to go to a different place than I’d intended, or at least enjoy the different scenery. The road may not be any easier, but it is the uncommon path that intrigues me.
So while finding myself in awe of how things can line up instantly in ways I never could have planned, I realized that being presented with an opportunity that seems almost too incredible to believe is a sure sign that I should take it. I’m not talking about liars or criminals offering unethical opportunities to me or too-good-to-be-true deals, but the kinds of opportunity that the Universe alone must conspire to lay at my feet. The more jaw-dropping and seemingly impossible the opportunity, the more assuredly I am to accept that opportunity. It’s when the clouds open up and a palm reaches down with a gift box and a booming voice says, “Here you go. I created this opportunity especially for you because you’ll have your dreams this way. It’s yours. Right now. If you choose to take it.”
Accepting the opportunity is still my choice. I can always say no to that fork in the road. But why would I? It’s the other part of the two miracles. Everything lines up in an awe-inspiring way that cannot be planned or foreseen, and then the opportunity presents itself when I least expect it.
Of course, I still like to receive a sign to know I’m on the right path (a residual effect from my days walking the Camino de Santiago), so I went for a long walk to think things through. “Give me a sign,” I murmured. About a quarter-mile later, in the middle of nowhere, I saw a stop sign…knocked down…flat…on someone’s lawn. I stepped over it and kept going.
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