When One Door Closes, Another Door Opens

“When one door closes another door opens, but in the meantime it’s hell in the hallway.”

Rev. Ellen Davenport

A doorway is a promise, but the hallway between them is where our practice is tested.

In Buddhism, we often speak of impermanence — the truth that everything is always

shifting, dissolving, and becoming something new. When one door opens and another

closes, we’re reminded of this constant flow. But the hallway, that inbetween space, can

feel like standing in the middle of a storm with no clear direction.

The hallway is uncomfortable because it strips away our illusions of control. Old

identities fall away, new ones haven’t formed, and the mind grasps for certainty. Yet this

is precisely where awakening begins. The Buddha taught that suffering arises not from

change itself, but from our resistance to it. The hallway is where we meet that

resistance facetoface.

Instead of rushing toward the next door, we can learn to pause. To breathe. To notice

the rawness of uncertainty without trying to fix it. In this pause, the hallway becomes a

teacher. It shows us our attachments, our fears, and the stories we cling to. It also

reveals our resilience, our capacity for patience, and the quiet wisdom that emerges

when we stop fighting the moment.

Every hallway eventually leads somewhere, but its purpose isn’t only transition. It’s

transformation. When we walk it with awareness, the “hell” softens. The walls widen.

The darkness becomes spacious. And we discover that even in the most uncertain

moments, we are already on the path.

“May you be at peace, may your heart remain open.”

John Karn, D.D.