Unfulfilled aspirations. Picture your situation, whatever you call it, as a maze with many doors. There are interior doors leading to other paths in the maze. There are many other doors which lead out of the maze. The interior doors represent choices that keep you stuck in the realm of your current situation. The exterior doors lead to a new place. The interior doors are labeled. Here is an example of what I mean. As Gerry scrolls through FB she/he sees the lives of those who have what Gerry wishes for. They say FB is fakebook but what is happening in friends’ lives is real enough to have a picture of it and whether those pics are cherry-picked moments or not doesn’t change Gerry’s aspirations. Gerry just wants a fair share of love and fun. Would you blame them for feeling empty? Gerry could choose to walk through the door titled “Indulge Yourself”. The response could be to go home and binge on pizza, ice cream, and Netflix. The whole time telling different unhealthy stories about why life is the way it is and why indulgence is deserved. The choice to isolate, to binge, and to develop unhealthy stories are all interior doors which keep us stuck in the situation even though we may be doing them to mask pain. The pain remains, and we may be even more stuck in emotional blues in spite of all of the “effort” put into managing the problem. Here are some examples of the inner doors available to us. The choices are endless and they are designed to entice us. They are quick fixes which either appear like they help us meet an aspiration or make up for failing to achieve it. If you watch TV commercials long enough you can have a long list of the labels on the interior doors. How would a vacation feel? What you really need is a fancy car. The right set of clothes would be the start of a new you. You deserve a break today. A $6 cup of coffee will make you feel so much better. Many other interior doors are there to give you a way to either spice up your life or chill out. You choose. You never have to leave. You can stay in the maze forever attempting to get what you want. Fill up your Instagram so that everyone sees your awesome life of the moments you have after walking through those interior doors which lead to emptiness.
The labels on the exterior doors are much less captivating than those on the inner doors. You might even say they are boring. Would you really expect someone who is feeling unfulfilled to go through the door titled “Serve Others”? This is why so many walk past the doors of Thankfulness, Exercise, Fidelity, Sobriety, and Healthy Eating and choose “Me Time” instead. The peculiar thing is that the interior doors sound like they lead exactly to the place you want to go but they don’t. The exterior doors seem like they lead nowhere but wind up leading to exactly the place you want and need to be.
When you sense that your life is missing something, do the smart thing. Exit the maze.
Wow Jim !How true,a very simple perspective as to the doors of life.The inside doors are so easy to access and open and we know where they’ll lead us,whereas the doors leading us out look unfamiliar ,perhaps hard to open and we know for sure there’s work to do once it’s opened!Having been through all these doors, many times I stay in the maze but when I choose to leave the rewards are amazing!I really wish I could put a lock on the door that leads me out but that’s not how it works.I have maps and tools to use for getting me out ,it’s my choice as to whether I want to use them!I thank the lord for giving me choices and I pray that he stays by my side as I choose “my doors”!