Years ago, when I worked as a director in a hospital, responsible for marketing as well as community outreach, I was invited to join the local Rotary club. Rotary was (and likely still is) a well attended weekly group with a great cross section of community leaders. Rotary members took part in many service projects, making a difference around the globe.

I was glad to be asked to join and looked forward to our meetings (although, I confess, I often had to race back to work after lunch and before the program). After a couple of weeks of membership, I was asked to be one of three speakers at the next meeting. The assignment was to talk about my background and give people a chance to get to know me.

I thought about how I would best represent myself, about a theme for my life. And the one word that came to mind was “serendipity.” As you likely know, serendipity refers to things that happen by chance and have a positive, or happy, outcome. And it seemed to me that was the perfect description of my life.

So I found six different photos that represented key elements or stages. I put them together, numbered them 1-6 and then made copies. And when it came my time to speak, I explained my concept and asked the audience to call out numbers and I would talk about what was in the photo. The overarching message was that I didn’t see my life or my career as linear. Rather, when I have seen a door open, I have walked through it.

In my professional career, doors have opened that led me into different fields, that gave me opportunities that I didn’t even know were there. In each instance, I also had the gift of learning and of building new relationships, many of which have endured for decades.

Doors don’t always open into light filled spaces. In my personal life, I found myself walking through a door at the end of a long term marriage, coming to the end of a relationship that had begun when we were both 15. It was not a door that I ever thought I would open but, in the end, it led to better things for all of us.

We are often afraid to try new things, from new professional challenges to new experiences. We find a hundred reasons why that is not for us. Sometimes we are right but sometimes it is just our anxiety about that open door and what it represents.

Filling our hearts and filling our lives is not walking a straight line down a straight path. Truth is, that path of life is neither solid ground nor a straight line. Things can change, life can change, in the space between one heartbeat and the next. Consider those open doors carefully, perhaps a little serendipity will help you fill your full heart.