THE GENTLE DOOR OF WHISPERS

“When one door slams, another door opens;

But, the sound of the door slammed is so loud,

That we fail to hear

The gentle whispers of the door that opens.”

 

Helen Keller was blind, deaf and dumb. 

Imagine what I just said: Helen Keller was BLIND, DEAF and DUMB!

Yes, to experience her world, we have to be in it. It is ‘Black’!

So, if I tell you, “My friend, don’t lose faith, there is a place for each one of us in this world… Keep hope, keep trusting… and, keep aiming high,” it will not move you… Because, I am not blind, I am not deaf and I am not dumb. My world is not ‘Black’…

Helen Keller’s was…

Thus, when Mrs. Keller tells you, “My friend, don’t go by the loud sound of the door that slams… go by the gentle whispers of the door that opens… Trust, see hope, get up and try again… There is a tomorrow, there is a future,”… Yes, when she tells you this, there is a different power, different beauty.

When I had first come across Mrs. Keller’s famous lines, I had risen up like a lion… I had found a new strength, a new hope… and a new meaning, as well.

A new meaning, I said.

Let me expand on it.

We become confident in life, when we learn to trust ourselves… Trust gets shaken, when someone, particularly, our dear ones keep criticizing us, taunting us, putting us down in front of others… Keep harping on our flaws and our mistakes.

Yes, our trust in us gets shaken when we are constantly criticized by our nearest and dearest ones… by people who matter as we grow – our parents, relatives, teachers, friends and some neighbors. We look up to these people… we value their opinions and comments… and, therefore, when they decry, throw cold water on our efforts, use harsh words when we falter – we immediately sulk. Then, we lose our faith in ourselves… we don’t try again, we become bitter… and, then, we give up.

This is a sad story… and, all of us are familiar with it… at least, a part of it is true in our lives. Yes, we all have a story to tell: Why we lost our wings? Why we stopped flying?

 

So, it goes: that, we need to be acknowledged, appreciated and encouraged by those who matter in our lives. We need their kind words, we need their empathy… we need their support as we learn to ‘fly’… as we learn to be confident individuals in life.

On the contrary, if we get from the same people, cold shoulders, harsh words and humiliation, what can be expected from us?

But, there it is… in the life of each one of us. Whether we like it or not, it is there… 

Someone close to us, throws cold water on our little achievement, someone dear to us, keeps cribbing even though we keep making our sincere efforts… Someone dear to us keeps saying something nasty in front of everyone… and, we hide… into our caves!

This is the door that slams with a loud, loud noise…

This is the door that makes us sulk, go into our caves… and, never come out. Give up.

This is the door that the legendary lady Helen Keller – blind, deaf and dumb – reminds us about…

And, there is the other door 

Mrs. Keller points our attention to: 

the door that opens… with gentle whispers… 

The door that we fail to notice… 

the gentleness that goes suppressed 

under the harshness of the banging door…

Yes, Helen Keller, the beacon of hope, knows the power of trusting the gentle door… the door that opens for all of us… Yes, as one door slams on us with all its blows.

Thus, it also goes: it is not whether our dear ones slam the door on us… criticize, undermine or condemn…

It is whether we are able to see the door that opens… hear its gentle whispers…

Yes, whether we see enough hope, hear enough promises… and feel enough trust in the goodness of Life…

Oh yes! It is the gentle door with the whispers and not the door that slams with blows… That gives me my wings… that make me fly like a falcon!

GERALD D’CUNHA

Pics.: Lionel Saldanha