Doorways that Lead to Who Knows Where...

I can still remember the doorway in the house I grew up in..."that" doorway...the one right in front of you as you entered the hallway that led to either the dining room or the living room..."the" doorway that led to the basement!

I did go down into the basement many times...but the stairway was steep and narrow, and the lighting "down there" consisted on one bare 100-watt bulb that, when it burned out, you would need to replace using a flashlight to see what you were doing.

If there were windows in that basement, I do not remember them.

There have been other doorways..."those" doorways...in my life.  And they have been there in your life, too.

Doorways that lead to who knows where. 
-The first day of school is probably one those doorways.
-Most likely your first love is one of those doorways.
-The first time you decide for yourself to do something you know is wrong, and it just might have some fairly bad consequences, is one of those doorways.
-First job...finding your career...retirement:  Each is one of those doorways.
-The birth of your child(ren) is the kind of doorway we are talking about.
-A bad diagnosis from the doctor...approaching death: yup.

Where do doorways like these lead to?  They lead to "who knows where."  They lead to "heaven only knows."  They lead to "I'll be danged if I know."

And what to do?  What to do?  Walk through that doorway...or turn around and walk back the way you came?  What to do?

I remember a line from the Eagles' "Hotel California," when the singer is standing at the doorway and thinks to himself, "This could be heaven or this could be hell."  Doorways that lead to who knows where.

Here are some words from actress Gilda Radner that are very instructive about doorways in life:
"I wanted a perfect ending.  Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle and end.  Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.  Delicious Ambiguity."

So yeah, it could be heaven or it could be hell.  Or, it could be that you are at the intersection of mercy and grace...and that doorway in front of you could lead not to the dark scary basement, but the next best thing on your path through life.  Delicious Ambiguity.

There is no ideal world for you to wait around for.  The world is always just what it is now, and its up to you how you respond to it.  (-that, from Isaac Marion)

So, what door do you want...number 1, number 2, or number 3?  They all lead to who knows where.