I have often heard this particular phrase, that makes my blood curl and my hair stand on end, “When one door closes, another opens.”
This is one of the most terrifying things I’ve heard in my life because, and hear me out, it means that one way or another, one of the doors in my life is bound to be latched shut, pushing me out into a cold, lifeless, empty corridor, where I will go round and round until I see another door open. And when that door does open, where will it take me?
To McDonald’s or the nearest Subway Sandwich shop? To the gates of Hades or plunging into Tartarus?
Or maybe…to the next phase of my life, which by far, is the scariest possibility I have dreamed of.
It is at that point in my daily quota of daydreaming that I realised that the aforementioned quote is basically just an oversimplified way to describe every single one of our lives- from your annoying little sibling’s life to the President of the United States. (All hail the Overgrown Orange Baby!)
Isn’t it true that when we move on from one stage of our lives to the other, say from being a sweet young 8-year-old to a teenager who would gladly spend the rest of their days chatting on their phones and complaining about the state of Indian politics (hey, don’t sue me, sue society for developing social stereotypes about the way our generation behaves, that are enforced upon us at a young age and remain implanted in our heads for the rest of our lives), we tend to leave behind our innocence, our childish experiences, and, unfortunately, some of our closest friends?
For many of us, we tend to close that chapter in our lives forever and we don’t recognize the rarity and importance of those moments until we realize that those moments are never coming back.
It’s actually kind of poetic and messed up at the same time that all we youngsters want to do is grow up and get away from the stifling dictatorship-like rule that is enforced upon us for what seems like aeons, while on the other hand, those who have matured and have got through this Disney world ride called life want a complete return to their childhood- the last time they remember everything being simple, straightforward and well, quite frankly, fun.
Of course, who am I to comment on matters that renowned philosophers have been debating about for god knows how many years now.
After all, the only thing I’m good for is chatting on my phone and complaining about the state of Indian politics… or so I’ve been told.