Openings

              How many times do we have an opportunity and know it? It's available when we apply for a new position, perhaps when we move to a new location, and also when we move toward a different group or club or newly met individuals. It is a definite step, an action that is obvious, mainly because it is new and different and indicates a different way of doing things. There are opportunities in each day for openings to grow, to learn, to give, to love, to move forward as a whole human being. They are often missed because there does not seem to be a definite difference or a "newness" about the opportunity. It may seem as if it is a day as it was the day before in its normalcy, yet each day, in many, many different ways, there are choices to be made and opportunities for advancement.

              There are missed opportunities and those are the ones that make us very aware that we should have taken action and did not. We play and re-play the action in our minds and wonder what could have been different, what new openings could have been made, "if only I had...." and whatever the ending of the sentence, we know the opportunity for that particular thing or that particular person will, in all likelihood, not happen again.

              How then, can we make sure that we are more aware of possibilities for our own inner growth? The main clue is that which gives us choices. Sometimes these choices must be made quickly, whether to help another, whether to go out of one's way, whether to do something or do nothing. It would be nice if we could have the time to rationalize the pros and cons of whether action should be taken or not, but many times, action must be made quickly, in an instant, or the opening is lost. Often it comes in conversations and we sense something about another's need and we must decide whether to make a difference, to offer assistance, but too often, we wait, we're not sure, and the opportunity is gone. In our daily life with our families we have opportunity after opportunity which slips out the door because we are too busy to intuit the opening or be aware of it on a conscious level.

              It is not difficult. Just know that the Universe gives thousands of opportunities for choices. If you look not for a big opening or a grand drama but look instead at the ordinary, the day to day, and listen and observe, you will find you see more openings. Whether you act on these openings or not, the fact that you are becoming more aware of them is always the first step.