Thoughts From The Wilderness – The Power of Possibilities

An open door is a gateway to endless possibilities.

More often than not when Lynn and I are either heading to or returning from some exhilarating and adrenaline-pumping adventure, we’ll squeal to a grinding standstill with smoke pouring off the car tires, because Lynn sees something that calls for her to take a photo of it.

There are those times, unfortunately where Lynn sees something that is calling to her, but for whatever reason, we don’t stop or I reply, “we’ll swing by and get it the next time.” The wrinkle in the “we’ll swing by again equation” is three-fold. One, we may not get back that way. Secondly, the passion Lynn felt for the photo right at this time might not be there the next time. And lastly, what she intensely wanted to shoot might be gone if we did go back.

So, what does all this mean?

It means, sometimes we just need to stop the car, open the door and get out to the possibilities that are in front of our eyes.

Here’s a perfect example.

Back in 2017, after a long and trying shift that started in the middle of the night, Lynn opened a text from me saying to be ready when I got home and we’ll head over to Collingwood for a bit of a drive to wind down from the day.

As I merrily drove around with Lynn happily snapping pictures, it was a wonderful release from a stressful day on the streets. Touring aimlessly throughout the streets and surrounding countryside of Collingwood, I headed over to the area in the waterfront that at one point was the shipbuilding epicentre of the community in the days of old. Now it is one of the major condo development areas in the community. Go figure?

At the entrance to the harbour are the disused grain terminals, where grain that originated in western Canada would be unloaded after heading east by train and ultimately ship across Lake Superior and through Georgian Bay to Collingwood. It would be stored here before heading off to many factories or manufacturing facilities for further processing.

As the weather was a “bit moody” that day, in all likelihood we would have just driven around the grain terminal area, snapped more photos and headed on home. But, this time we stopped and opened the door and a world of possibility and opportunity opened before us and all of it resulting in this photograph.

That simple act of stopping and opening the door resulted in this photograph which won for Lynn first place in “Experience Collingwood’s” challenge to find a photograph that represented the essence of the community. This picture was used extensively throughout 2017 in “Experience Collingwood’s” online advertising and promotional activities in the tourism industry. It also resulted in some fabulous prizes for Lynn as well.

The Point Is

All throughout our lives, we pass doors, that if we stop and open them they can be a “gateway to endless possibilities and opportunities.” However, and this is a BIG, however, we need to stop and open them to see and imagine what the possibilities or opportunities are that are right in front of our eyes.

Those possibilities can be as great and significant as a change in career or as simple as trying a new restaurant or different cuisine. Opening the door and seeing what is there can open us to at least the chance to experience more of the world in front of us.

Perhaps it’s opening the door and:

• heading out to a free lecture series at your local library(we did)
• discovering new authors to read
• signing up for an evening course to your local college
• heading outdoors and trying a new activity
• get tickets to a film festival and experience movies or film shorts that may never make it into mainstream theatres, but will simply blow you away(we did)
• researching and signing up to volunteer with something you’re passionate about
• taking up a new hobby
• you see the list is endless!!

If all we ever do in life is “just drive around” and think about stuff and never actually get out and open the door, what are we missing?

Everything.

Opening every door that gets presented in front of us doesn’t have to result in a life-altering choice. Perhaps that’s what scares people and results in them coming to a screeching standstill pondering “do I open the door and see what is behind it, or do I not bother and keep moving on?”

Interesting set of choices?

There is so much in this world to experience, so many opportunities to simply enrich our lives if we would only open those doors to the possibilities.

What if there is one door today that presents itself to you? Will you open it and look to see what the possibilities are?

Or will you drive on by?