We change every seven years. Our cells rejuvenate, every drop of iron-rich blood pumping through each newly formed cellular veins is fresh; old skin has dissolved into a clearer, hopefully more youthful film to cover our reformulated bones. (I’ll probably be inundated with challenges from people in the medical-know, so I’ll admit it now – this is based on info from the daily papers and what my mum says.)
Anyway, one thing’s for sure: our tastes change. I’m at an age that is divisible by seven and my tastes have certainly altered this year. I now like dark chocolate, French TV with subtitles and men with beards. I also have more patience with technology and nature, but less tolerance of ignorant people. I check Facebook before I read my email now and sometimes order eggs Florentine in Patisserie Valerie rather than an éclair.
But the biggest change has been in my attitude to doors. Well, metaphorical doors… I’ve always been a strong believer of ‘when one door closes another one opens.’ A better door, bigger, shinier and leading to greater opportunities and positive, happy events ahead. Now I’m thinking, what if it’s a revolving door? What if the door closes and we try to walk away, only to find ourselves involuntarily turning around to face it again? What if the revolving door spins and we can’t get out? (That actually happened to my friend Carol…)
What’s wrong with knocking on a closed door anyway, or pushing it ajar to peek back inside?
What if we find ourselves walking seemingly away from the door along a road that suddenly curves unexpectedly back towards it? A snake-like path that meanders forward before changing direction like the wind. Is this a sign that there’s still something waiting for us behind the original brass knocker? And why can’t we have two doors that we flit between? Who says we can only go from one door to the next? And furthermore, what if we get trapped in a giant version of the Monty Hall problem…? (I just freaked myself out when I went to link to my previous Monty Hall blog as it turns out I posted it exactly a year ago today!)
Fortunately I haven’t had many doors closed to me, although I have slammed a few in my time. That’s another thing isn’t it: bang it shut too hard and it will inevitably bounce back open. Or jam closed… at the exact moment you realise you’ve left something important on the other side.
Another attitude I’ve embraced as I’ve got older is toward other people’s perception of me. This mantra is one I first heard many years ago but which frequently pops up on social media: “You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching, love like you’ll never be hurt. Sing like there’s nobody listening and live like it’s heaven on earth.”
At Tuesday’s concert in Canary Wharf, the entertainers performed a fantastic set of 70s and 80s disco stuff. Everyone danced like no one was watching, everyone sang (mostly out-of-tune), no-one cared – that’s what life’s all about! Welcome to the last week of summer – enjoy it!!
As the eternal Queen of Disco said about the last dance, “I need you by me, beside me to guide me.” If, like Donna Summer, you need guidance, I may be able to help. I’m working with a number of clients at the moment to guide their social media strategies leading up to Christmas. If you’d like to know more, email me or ask me here: @WeekendWitch.
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