‘Knock, Knock.’ ‘Who’s There?’
This Is No Joke
by Phylis Clay Sparks

Imagine yourself standing in front of three closed doors.  What comes to mind as you look at these doors?  Let me guess. 

One thought might be, “Well, opportunity knocks, so the doors could be doors of opportunity. Maybe I should knock and find out.” Another thought could be, “I wonder which one has something behind it that I might want?” The idea might occur to you to simply open all three and find out. Or, you might wonder, “Could there be a tiger lurking behind one of them?”

Whatever you may have thought when you first imagined these doors, they represent many possibilities, all with an aura of mystery. But you’re using your imagination here, so why not think of them as doors of opportunity? 
    “Knock, knock.”
    “Who’s there?”
    “Irene.”
    “Irene Who?”
    “Irene and Irene, but nobody answers!”

Okay. Stop ringing the doorbell and knock. In fact, just open the darned door!

To open a door of opportunity is to take a calculated risk. What’s behind the door could either lead you toward your dream or disappoint you. But you will not know what’s behind it unless you take a risk and open the door.

The experience of life is one of risk-taking. And the biggest fear about taking risks is fear of the unknown, venturing into uncharted territory where there are no guarantees. When you walk into the unknown, it can feel as though you’re in darkness and uncertainty. But you may have already noticed that at just the right moment your next step is usually illuminated.

Here’s an illustration about illumination.
I remember when comedian Jimmy Durante was on the planet and had his own television show. He became famous for his closing musical number.  Jimmy would sing as he walked off stage, beginning the song in the beam of a lone spotlight. As he finished the first verse, the spotlight would go out and another circle of light would appear just a few feet ahead of him. 

Jimmy would then step into that beam of light and sing the next verse. As he finished that verse, the same thing would happen again. He would run to catch up to the light and stand in it to sing the next verse. Step by step, he followed the trail of light, each beam shining only as long as he needed it, and then it was up to him to step into the next beam.

He could have just stood in the dark to sing the rest of the song, but that wouldn’t have made much sense. Likewise, it makes no sense for any of us to stay in the same place and keep doing what we’ve been doing when we have something else to express. We must keep stepping into the next circle of light and sing the next verse in our life. Eventually, that light will go out. Then, it will be up to us to find the next one and step into it.

Just like opening a door, not knowing what’s behind it, when you step into the next circle of light, you may not know which song you will sing. Still, venturing into the unknown, especially in present times when things are changing so fast, needs to become a thing we are all willing to do.
    “Knock knock.” 
    “Who’s there?”
    “Ooze.”
    “Ooze who?”
    “Ooze in charge around here?”

You are. You are in charge of your life. With hope and courage, open every door of opportunity that presents itself. See problems as opportunities. You must become comfortable with stepping into uncertainty — into the unknown. It is in uncharted territory where the field of all possibility exists.

Go on — open the door!