Happiness Sneaks in Through a Door
Door at Fort Pulaski, GA
Happiness Sneaks in Through the Door
"Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open." ~ John Barrymore ~
The Wonders of Doors
I've long been a fan of doors. Where ever I travel if I see a door that strikes my fancy, I have to capture the image of the door.
Whether they be architectural wonders, ancient beauties or sturdy day to day stand-bys, doors should never be taken for granted.
The advent of the door gave shelter to humankind, kept out the cold and kept in the warmth. Doors kept the wolves at bay and as any child will tell you, kept the booegy man outside the house.
But, we must be careful with doors because we can close ourselves off and become isolated behind closed doors. The easy fix is to throw the door open and welcome in a breath of fresh air - literally and figuratively.
A Unlikely Door to Happiness
The door in this picture would seem at first to be more of a door of doom. I fell in love with this sturdy, noble door when visiting Fort Pulaski, GA outside of Savannah a few years ago.
Building on Fort Pulaski began in 1829 by the US government with the intended purpose of protecting the US coastline against foreign assaults. I'm sure the latest skirmish with the British in a "little" war known as the War of 1812 left the new US government thinking about early American homeland security. The fort was completed in 1847, just prior to the US Civil War.
At the start of the Civil War, Fort Pulaski was in the hands of the Confederate troops. After a terrible siege and bombardment, the fort fell into the hands of the Union Army. Miraculously only one Confederate and one Union soldier were injured during the siege.
When the fort fell, so did Savannah. For a while, the fort housed prisoners of war.
You may be asking, "How did this become an unlikely door to happiness?"
Well, after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 Fort Pulaski became the last stop on the Underground Railroad for freed slaves on their way to freedom.
That huge, sturdy, noble old door became the gateway to freedom - and certainly a lot of happiness. I'm sure no one would have every dream of looking upon that door as a door of freedom or happiness - but, happiness did sneak in through door.
Re-enactors Preparing to Fire the Canons at Fort Pulaski
Happiness and Your Open Door
We live in a crazy world. We are bombarded almost from the cradle onward with the mantra the person with the most "stuff" wins and by default is the happiest. As a result, many people shuffle through life miserable because they don't have the latest smartphone or drive the latest model car every other year. A lot of those people with all that "stuff" are some of the most miserable people I've ever met.
I often wonder if over-consumption is one reason why dystopian shows full of zombies and dismal, dark futures are the rage in entertainment. Have people glutted on consumerism? Are we consumer zombies? Has it become a way to numb the uncertainty of what we see around us?
I prefer to be like John Barrymore - somewhere there is a door I left open and I forgot about it. And, through that door, happiness will sneak in. I know it will. Why? Because it has on more than one occasion. I married one of those unexpected gifts of happiness who came through an open door I had no idea was even open.
So, never underestimate the value of an open door - it just may be the gateway unexpected happiness uses to sneak into your life.
The Battle of Fort Pulaski - Kids Keep History Alive
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© 2013 Beverly Hicks Burch