a door.a simple thing.a piece of wood on hinges, with a knob or a push plate.
a door.a complex thing.a space within each of us that can open or close on the hinges of the heartmind.
the doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.
~~flora whittemore
a door within can allow free passage of ideas, feelings, sensations, thoughts. the very same doors can block that flow. over the years we, as elders, may have many doors within…some open to the new or the familiar; others firmly closed to aspects of the past; yet others that may open occasionally to allow flow for a period of time then close again. and each day provides many opportunities to choose…open, closed, sometimes.keeping some doors open may require acts of will. these may be the doors of conscious attention, the choice for awareness. opening these doors may reflect the decision to live fully, with increasing sensitivity to our inner and outer landscapes. we may have decided to live a life dedicated to a passion, to a new interest, to inner work. these doors may require care to keep them open. they may even require a doorstop! perhaps the habits of a lifetime long to slam them shut again.the choice to open the door and then keep it open is one that the elder holds dear. she may not have had this choice earlier in life, the demands of previous stages of growth were simply too relentless. now, as an elder, he has the choice to decide the life he lives.
other doors simply want to stay open all the time, without any seeming effort. these doors are the ones that allow the flow of the familiar, the comfortable, the ease. these doors open the way to that which has supported life for years…wonderful friends, lovers, family or work that is still meaningful and fulfilling.these doors may be the openings to creativity that now, in the elder years, has more time to flourish.these doors may be the doors that lead to joy.