I was running errands the other day and triumphantly delivered my tax information to the accountant at the last stop. Preparing all of our personal information and business information is quite a chore. I try to look at our refund as payment for all of the time spent slaving over the Excel spreadsheets. It helps alleviate some of my pain.
I hadn't really had any time to just sit and relax and enjoy nature or meditate lately and decided to stop by the church that was right around the corner from the accountant's office. When I sit quietly that is one of my best times for ideas to flow. I love to go into churches when there are no services in progress. The air is cool, the lights are low and the sound of your steps up the aisle and the flow of the baptismal font are the only sounds breaking the silence.
I tried one of the main front doors to the church and found it locked. I tried the other doors and came across the same barrier to my entrance - locked! "How could the church be locked?", I thought. It is the best time to enjoy some solitude. Surely there was some mistake. It was always open on Sunday afternoons but this was a weekday. Maybe the rules were different for the other days of the week. I was going to write or call the front office and ask if they could change their policy of door locking so I could enjoy my visits in the future. Ha - hardheaded reactive me. I started to head back to the car disappointed. Then I looked back at the church and remembered the side door. "Let's try a few more doors", I thought as I headed to the side entrance. The door on the left was also locked but the one on the right was unlocked. I opened it and slipped in feeling sneaky, like I wasn't supposed to be there and someone had forgotten to lock that door and someone was going to be in trouble. Lucky me. Not so lucky them.
I stealthily walked down the hallway and opened a door to the main part of the church and headed down the center aisle. I found a pew up front by the altar and dropped the kneeler. Ah - peace and quiet and escape from the hurried pace of a typical day.
I must have stayed 20 or 30 minutes. A maintenance man and then a priest in plain clothes came in and out of the church but did not disturb me or try to drag me out of the church. And the best part - ideas flowed. Ideas for parts of my books and problem solutions and other ah ha's. I left the church relaxed and happy and ready for the next work project.
Sometimes we approach a situation and the first thing we try does not work. So many people give up when they run into a brick wall or any small resistance. I encourage you to "try a few more doors" - hang in there. You may be just one more door knob away from success. Don't give up.