A note about a quote!

I have a few friends who knit and blog and we've decided to embark on a blog project that has nothing to do with knitting. We're going to take turns coming up with a topic every Thursday and we each have to blog about it by the end of that day and post links to each other's blogs so that people can see our different perspectives on the same topic.

Check out the backstory about how the project was conceived and how we all came together.

Here are the other blogs:
Froggie Knits Like Crazy
Charmingly Random
Desperate Madness

This week's topic comes from Desperate Madness: Your favorite quote and what it means to you

Here goes:

"Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor." Stephen Sondheim, "Into the Woods"

I chose this quote because I like the meaning behind it. I first heard it in "Into the Woods", as it was said by Cinderella. I can't remember the context behind the statement, but I've always liked the thought. I even directed a scene in my high school directing class where I used this quote as the motivating force behind the scene. I think it was regarding "Waiting for Godot," but I can't remember why I linked up the two. All I know is that it came together nicely.

I feel that the basic premise behind the quote is that once an opportunity comes along, you should seize it, as it is not going to last forever. I'm sure there are countless examples of this in my own life. Maybe it keeps me from procrastinating just a little bit. I definitely think it applies to my job hunts. I think that when a job is posted, it can be easily snatched up by someone well qualified, but I feel I should dig my heels in and send off my resume. I don't know that it will always be chosen, but I figure that if I don't, the opportunity will be gone. There are times when I'd save the link for a job posting and it would be gone by the time I got around to it. When I was about to interview for my current job, I managed to hit my eye on a shelf. I was worried that this was my way of self-sabotaging against a perfectly nice job. However, I called the interviewer and she was very understanding about rescheduling. I went in two days later and got the job afterward! I could have easily taken my eye injury as a sign not to go for such an opportunity (as my husband's car being towed on the day of his interview was a sign that he should not have taken his current job), but I'm glad I decided to reschedule and it has been well worth the wait (even if the wait was only two days between when I was supposed to interview and when I actually did).

There have been other times where I have decided to just seize the day and see what would come of it. I can't say I'm one for playing the lotto, but I don't like to leave a lot of "what ifs" just sitting out there. Even if it was just giving my phone number to a potential friend. Whether or not they called is a non-issue, but if I hadn't given them my contact information, I'd always wonder if I was losing out on a possible friendship.

Other instances of this quote coming into play:

*Recently telling someone close to me about an amazing career opportunity that they would be perfect for, but they were not ready to take the plunge at this time. I hope another similar opportunity comes up for them in the future.

*Giving my phone number to someone I barely knew so he could pass it along to his friend. At the time, I said "It might be besherte." If I hadn't given him my number at that time, I wouldn't be with the love of my life right now. (As I don't know that I would have ever encountered his friend again to do so.)

*Going to check out our house as soon as it went on the market, even though it meant making a lot of crazy last minute arrangements. We're living there now, as a result. The houses were getting snatched up so quickly in our neighborhood at that time of year, so I feel incredibly fortunate!

In any situation in life, there is going to be that window of opportunity. Once it closes, the opportunity has the potential to be gone for good.

This quote goes along with another quote I like, from "Rent." (I love musical theater, so it makes sense.) "There's only us. There's only this. Forget regret, or life is yours to miss. No other road. No other way. No day but today." Okay, so it's part of a song, but it makes sense to why I like the quote I chose. I think the message behind this quote doesn't need much of an explanation.