.....doors

Yogis,

This is me sitting on my bed inside my tent (ok, so this wasn’t exactly rustic camping) on vacation. The doors were actually a new install this year. Previously it was simply a zip up tent front.

Doors are a funny thing…….

This year we had quite a bit of wind there.  The door was a little tricky to get to latch when closed and the wind kept blowing it open. For the first two days I kept firmly shutting it again and again, and finally I asked myself exactly what was I trying to shut out? 

The bugs? Bugs vanish when the wind picks up. Intruders? I think not.The wind? With a full screen front that seems kind of absurd. Was I worried about someone seeing me nude?  ….as if that door would be of any assistance. So I started leaving it open. Mother Nature wanted to come in, so why was I shutting her out. 

We have many doors in our lives. The ones we open and step through and the ones we shut behind us.  The ones that we leave free for all to enter, and the ones that are locked tight. The glass ones and the thick ones of steel that keep us hidden.   

And I have noticed that the way we approach our doors says a lot about the way we approach life…. 

There are the those doors that we close tight yet keep checking lest what lurks behind them comes back into our lives. Past trauma, failed relationships or the challenging childhood. The revolving doors where we feel that we have moved on, but somehow look up only to find ourselves right back where we began. The doors that creak when we try to sneak past them, causing us to pull back and look around, hoping to God no one noticed our attempt to step forward.  Or the dreaded door left ajar where we move beyond with success, but leave that small crack of light because we simply can’t let go completely.

The life journey is a series of doors and on the spiritual path one of our ‘assignments’ is to step through a new door each day!

Every morning as our eyes open to the new sun we have a chance. A chance for something amazing.  When our feet swing off the bed and touch the floor they can take us anywhere. Do I go through door #1, door #2 or door #3 today?  Should  I step through the courage door, or the honesty door? Am I brave enough to cross the threshold of the ‘letting them see me’ door or is today meant for the door of compassion? Am I willing today to stand in front of the glass door and dance or is today the day I step through fully and  let my voice be heard.

New relationships, jobs, sensations, tastes, all require us to step through a door. If we become too comfortable behind our doors we stagnate. 

But what about the ones that need closing. Those can often be the most difficult. Whether it is a hurtful situation or the most exquisite thing that ever happened to you….closing the door for good once and for all can be the hardest thing you ever do. But then again….only as one door closes, can another one open.

I had a vivid dream the other night of sitting on a doorstep. Behind me was something that it was time to let go of and in front of me were the most breathtaking trees against a clear blue sky.  I knew it was time to step forward. But as I looked back over my shoulder I did see I had left the door left slightly ajar.  

Notice the doors around you this week. What are they keeping out? What are they holding in? Which ones finally need closing, and which doors are standing open in front of you, inviting you to take that first step…….

Tomorrow is another chance,
SARAH