Living On Hinges

The metaphor of the door is profound, for the door is not just something allowing entrance and exit from our homes, our businesses, our churches. Spiritual writings have spoken of doors in many ways, such as, "I am the door."

I just read about Jean Paul Sartre's play, "Exit." Basically, people are trapped in a room for eternity, but then the door is unlocked. Guess what happens. No one leaves. They trap themselves. The obvious question then is, in what ways do we trap ourselves?

So let's look at doors in our lives. They are on hinges and can open out or in. They are a gateway to another place. A door opening out is a metaphor for us walking out of what is less than whole. Let's say something seems to bind us, and yet we hesitate to walk through the door to something else, something new. The binding may be an addiction, or the feeling of entrapment, or our own lack of self-worth, for example. The door is present for us to walk into something else, to freedom and to growth, yet the hesitation often seems to be the fear of the unknown. We know the pain of this place, but the other side of the door is what? Take courage and walk through it. There are other doors ahead. There are many opportunities ahead. Doors lead to other doors, to eventually a more cosmic life.

From a spiritual vantage point, the Christ is a door. This door opens in, for it lets into the core of who we are the Light Divine. To be a follower of The Way is to walk through that inner door and let the Christ walk in. James, the brother of Jesus, has told us that following The Way is an active thing. We are to do good and merciful things with our lives. We are to live in such a way that we are doors for others. We are to be our unique versions of Christ, shining our lights, doing kind and loving things. We are to be forgiving. We are to have a deeply personal relationship with the Divine Presence, so that we too can have the knowing that God is our Divine Parent, our Beloved, and we are within that Presence every single moment -- as are others, some of whom just don't know it yet. We are compassionate for we recall how we were before we walked through That Door and welcomed it to swing in to welcome all that is Holy to every fiber of our being and every millisecond of our existence.

When we actively live The Way, we become doors for others. And, we discover more and more interior doors that open for an ever deeper walk in The Way.

Beloved Divine Presence, guide me to open more inner doors to You, and at the same time to open out to shine Your Light and be a door to You for others. I humbly present myself to You this day as I set my life once again on Your Path and do my best to walk The Way.