O is for . . . Opportunity

Image Courtesy: Raj Manchekar

My dearest darlings,
Come take a look at this. O is for Octopus in your book, La Niña. Did you know that octo pous is the Greek word for eight feet? Interesting, isn't it?

As a child, I used to think that eight feet were a very useful thing to have. You could go much further and do so much more than you could with two.

Being able to do much more reminds me of another great O in my opinion, Opportunity. An opportunity is a situation or a condition that is favourable towards you and helps you achieve a goal.

On the face of it, opportunities appear rather tricky. They seem to imply that you have to be at the right place at the right time in order to catch sight of them. And that is what fazes most people. They convince themselves that Opportunity's preferred hunting ground is elsewhere, somewhere far away from them.


The fact is that opportunity is far more benevolent than we give it credit for. But it expects us to meet it halfway. If we sit at home, all dressed up in our Sunday best, and expect it to knock on our front doors, we had better be resigned to a long wait.

Opportunity is more likely to bump into us if we are out on the street, dressed in our work clothes, and show a willingness to roll up our sleeves and work.

Sometimes, though, opportunity does knock on our doors, but it so often dresses up in borrowed attire looking like a problem, or in disguise looking like hard work, that we don't recognise it. We see the grease on its elbows, the dirt under its finger nails, the grime on its knees, and ignore the knock on the door.

Remember, mis hijos, All you have to do is give it all you've got. Throw your heart and mind into the accomplishment of a goal and it is yours. 

You have to be alert and do what you can. See how birds hustle about for their food; they don't wait for someone kind to drop juicy worms into their nests. I'm not saying you've got to hustle all the time. But you definitely have to be alert, to espy opportunity and grab it with both hands. 

Of course, the more resources you have at your disposal, the better you might think it is. But take it from me, the fact that you have four limbs less than the octopus doesn't necessarily mean you can't go places and do great things.

Another thing about Opportunity. It doesn't pay right away. Sometimes you might have to put in a whole year's work and more, before it even acknowledges the worth of what you are doing.





My wish for you is that you may go boldly forward and create the opportunities you need. In doing so, you may encounter difficulties, but don't let that stop you from putting your next foot forward. One step at a time. Challenges and success are the two sides of the coin that is Opportunity.

Of course, there are good opportunities and bad opportunities. That is where your Intuition will guide you. 

If you need me, I'm always here. 

Until tomorrow.