Sliding Door Moments
In December 2020’s In Style magazine, writer, producer, and comedian Jordon Firstman said, life is “…all about finding the balance between letting change happen and pushing yourself to achieve major progress…”
I agree, but how does one find the balance between taking charge and letting go, between pushing and allowing, between will and surrender?
In the film Sliding Doors, a woman’s life can go in two wildly different directions depending on whether she does or doesn’t catch a train. And in the novel The Midnight Library, a woman finds a library containing books with multiple possibilities of the lives one could have lived.
What if that one little thing happens differently?
Doors are constantly opening and closing in our lives, seemingly inconsequential sliding door moments that change the course of our reality,
The persistent question becomes: Is this the right door—the right train?
One of my sliding door moments came in 2019 when I read an article by Jane Friedman about The Indie Author Project, which led to an opportunity to expand my readership via their Select E-book Collections and entering their IAP contest.
Five months later, I received an email that Between Will and Surrender had won first place for adult fiction in the California Author Project.
And this month, I received the news that Between Will and Surrender hit #4 out of the top 10 most read Indie Author Project Select Books of 2020.
“There are over 1,700 books in that collection,” BiblioLabs Community Engagement Manager, Emily Gooding told me, “so being one of the top 10 most read books of the year is no small accomplishment.”
Yes, there will always be roads not taken, doors unopened, and unmade choices in our lives.
But every so often, we make just the right choice at just the right time, and the course of our lives takes on a new trajectory.
What has been the most recent Sliding Door Moment in your life?
“There are over 1,700 books in that collection,” BiblioLabs Community Engagement Manager, Emily Gooding told me, “so being one of the top 10 most read books of the year is no small accomplishment.”
Congratulations Margaret! Persistence pays off.
Thanks, Gerald. This was quite a surprise for me. Wish it translated into sales. But I’m still thrilled my books are being read.
Well done, Margaret! Sliding door moments makes me ponder parallel universes…
Thanks Jodine. Parallel universes. Yes, makes one wonder.
Congrats, Margaret,
And nice on framing the conundrum that I’ve meditated (arriving at no pat conclusion, mind) for decades now: “How does one find the balance between taking charge and letting go, between pushing and allowing, between will and surrender?” I just noticed that the dichotomies are easier to manage if the sequence of their statement is reversed: Let go and then take charge. Allow and then push. Surrender and then will to do.
Good point, Vic. “Let go and then take charge. Allow and then push. Surrender and then will to do.” I believe I, and many others, have already subconsciously been doing so.
Speaking of sliding doors, one short story that has stuck in my head since childhood is the ultimate teaser by Frank Stockton, “The Lady, or the Tiger?” Hadn’t thought about it for years, but your post made me look it up. Sure enough, here’s the link: https://americanliterature.com/author/frank-stockton/short-story/the-lady-or-the-tiger
Ah, good question and one hard to answer: “The Lady, or the Tiger?” Thanks for sharing this, Vic.