The past two posts I have explored physical wonders of this wondrous world.  This week I want to approach a different sort of wonder in this world.

I want to explore the wonder of opportunity.

Humans are unique animals in this world.  We have an ability to do more than most of our mammalian counterparts.  We can make use of tools that no other can, and we can create and think and do things in a manner no other creature on this planet is capable of.

With this ability comes opportunity.  We have more than choices to simply survive or not, we have the ability to strive for individual goals that are completely unique to any given individual.

Dictionary.com defines opportunity thusly:

op·por·tu·ni·ty (noun)

1.an appropriate or favorable time or occasion: Their meeting afforded an opportunity to exchange views.

2. a situation or condition favorable for attainment of a goal.

3. a good position, chance, or prospect, as for advancement or success

I think pretty much everyone I have ever encountered in this life had at least some sort of goal or other.  And finding a position for advancement or success is very much something we often consider part of the human condition.

The other animals of this world have similar goals to one another.  They seek food, shelter, mates, and means to survive and thrive.  While humans do the same, we can go beyond these simple things, and choose any of a multitude of options, most of which are created by us.

Food?  We have innumerable choices.  Shelter?  We can live in an apartment, a house, a boat, a city, the country, the suburbs, or out of a car – again, a multitude of options.  Mates?  We have a far more complex manner of finding and choosing a mate than other animals.  But different situations with potential mates provide us with different opportunities, and that is what this post is all about.

Let’s take a closer look at this.  Different places to live will provide us with different opportunities.  Urban versus rural will offer unique options for the life you may choose to live.  Different types of food, Chinese versus Italian versus savory versus sweet will provide not just sustenance, but a level of satisfaction on an emotional level.  And while we may seek a mate to settle down with and start a family, the exploration of opportunities in this realm can be thoroughly exciting (let’s be blunt, shall we – without getting inappropriate, no two people kiss the same, for example).

Certainly you can argue other animals seek opportunities for favorable conditions for tangible things for themselves, but only humans (at least as far as we know) seek out complex opportunities to attain things tangible AND intangible.  Science has never proven any other animal, for example, has a concept of spirituality.  But that could be a totally different topic.

Opportunity is an amazing wonder, and full of endless possibility.  Opportunity is what makes us go to school, learn everything we can, take risks to expand our world, and strive to improve our lot in life.  Opportunity is truly a wonder.

This is not something we give a lot of thought to.  It’s not just a part of our wondrous world, it is arguably a part of the human condition we all-too-readily take for granted.  Opportunity takes on a much deeper, grander meaning for us than the rest of the animal kingdom.

That is why I have chosen this topic.  The multi-faceted concept of opportunity can profoundly influence our present and our future, and even our past (at least in regards to opportunities missed).  It’s an amazing concept.

When opportunity knocks – do you answer?

I am MJ Blehart, your weird, wandering, wily, wacky Wednesday’s Wondrous World wordsmith.  Every week I will be sharing a wonder of this amazing world, and I hope you will enjoy the journey with me!  And (please indulge this moment of shameless self promotion) check out my blog, The Ramblings of a Titanium Don, for more of my philosophical and topical opinions.