Today’s Solutions: December 16, 2025

James Geary | September 2008 issue
Doors. What are they but holes with hinges, lidded interstices? They are almost nothing, a frame around empty space, yet everything swings on them. They stand there indifferent, impenetrable, not caring whether we go out or come in. We hurry through them, never sure in doing so whether we have just accepted an invitation or ignored a warning, never even sure if we’re entering or exiting. “Fortune always leaves some door open in misfortune,” wrote the Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes, who authored Don Quixote. Some doors open so fast and so wide we mistake them for abysses; others shut so subtly and so slowly we never notice them closing.
James Geary is the author of The World in a Phrase and Geary’s Guide to the World’s Great Aphorists. jamesgeary.com

Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

Vision board ideas for adults: how to create one that inspires real change

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM A vision board might look like a crafty throwback to childhood afternoons spent collaging. But don’t write it ...

Read More

India’s social experiment: how paying women directly reshapes welfare, autono...

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Across India, millions of women now receive a modest but unwavering deposit each month into their bank accounts. ...

Read More

New Zealand’s groundbreaking shift to renewables promises massive emiss...

New Zealand launched its most ambitious emissions reduction initiative to date in an incredible undertaking. The government announced a historic switch from coal to ...

Read More

Going for the goal: the impact of team sports on boosting young girls’ ...

In a pioneering study, the Here for Every Goal report demonstrates that team sports, particularly elite women's soccer (referenced from here on in this ...

Read More