A number of doors closed recently. Actually it felt like the doors were slammed in my face. A wake-up call. What's a teacher to do?
I'm not easily convinced when it comes to changing my direction, rerouting my path, and seeing things differently. I think a lot about what I do and why I do it. I frequently reach out for consult too--consult via talks, social media, research, professional events, and reading. So when my path is challenged, I typically persist.
Yet, there comes a time when the persistence reaches an end, and the acknowledgement that what you dreamed for is simply not going to happen where and when you dreamed it. I read quite a bit about those dead ends last night. People know those dead ends well, and the sadness that comes with them.
People who have lost loved ones know this much better than me. There's no going back when a person you love has died. People who lose jobs, flunk out of school, experience the end to a relationship, face a disaster, or endure a grave illness also know this much more than me. Closing doors in relation to those you love, the health you value, or the environment where you live are devastating, and demand that you persist, reimagine, make change, and move on.
There are changes that are more subtle, less severe, but also devastating and demanding of change. These changes are less visible, understood, and shared, and perhaps, more confusing than the dramatic changes that occur because of death or disaster, but these changes, nonetheless, demand that you persist, reimagine, make change, and move on.
Persist
When doors close, the persistence is different than the kind of advocacy and drive you use to make a good idea come alive. This kind of persistence means that you keep your energy strong and observation keen as you look for a new direction, a place to put the drive and energy you felt for the original aim.
Reimagine
This is the kind of reflection you use to think about the situation you face, and to reimagine how you'll live, create, and learn. Instead of knocking your head against the closed door, reimagining allows you to find more welcoming, fertile places for your ideas and efforts.
Make Change
This is what you'll do. You will make change. At first the change will be a skeleton of the next step--the framework for change. This framework is a good routine, the daily actions that lead you toward what you have reimagined.
Move On
Once the change becomes a habit, you will begin to move on and beyond those slamming doors to open entry ways, new opportunities, and positive experiences.
As I read about change last night, I found the words about looking for the positivity and possibility in change to be the most uplifting. This positivity is akin to the phrase, "When a door closes, a window opens." I've used that phrase many times with my own children, friends, and siblings when they've faced closed doors in their lives. Onward.
