We normally hate them: walls and closed doors, those obstacles that keep us from achieving our goals and dreams. I think of the quotes- "Up against a wall"; "When one door closes, another door opens...." or in another version- "at least a window...". I can't think of any quotes that praise the closed door or the solid wall; after all, it's all about the journey-- and if we are up against something solid or closed, then we will have to stop moving.
This past year (and for many years previously), over and over I have become keenly aware of walls and closed doors (putting these in the same category of general obstacles). On countless occasions I have returned from some enlightening or inspiring experience- be it prayer or meditation, talk or sermon, retreat or conference, or simply a walk along the river- inspired, and even called to some action. And over and over I have faced almost immediately the slamming door- an emergency work meeting or family situation, a high-priority task list, financial woes, and naysayers- something that caused me to set aside the dream, and address instead the situation at hand. Something that stood in the way.
Conventional wisdom holds that we look at these obstacles as challenges we must overcome and stay focused on the goal. Keep to the path... stay the course. But after awhile, I think we have to face the wall.
We have to look at the walls more closely- and to see which of those walls might be of our own imagining or creation. Maybe we will see our own faces in those walls-- our monsters, our shadows, our dragons. And if we begin to face them and speak to them, maybe they will begin to dissolve or transform into something else, something we can learn to be with and to hold.
And maybe we also have to look again at our reason for the journey. Maybe we have to ask just why we are pushing so hard- and what for? Because if we have forgotten the reason that inspired us... and are just so hell-bent on getting through... then perhaps we might need to go back and remember who we are and what moved us in the first place.
I also wonder if there might be a time in walking the journey when the wall is the journey. It is the essential pause, the moment of facing the self, the moment of deepening awareness. It is the essential task at hand-- and our call is not to the dream beyond, but to the wall that stands in the way.
Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who's the fairest one of all? The fairy tale sings...
In another fairy tale- a frog slammed against a wall turns into a prince.
In walls- perhaps- lie the vision and the transformation of ourselves, if we can learn to see them rightly. And I cannot arrive on the other side until I have faced myself, both fair and un-fair aspects, and splayed from ugliness into the beauty within.
So I am grateful for my walls-- tears and all-- that are telling me more and more about myself on the journey to transformation.
This past year (and for many years previously), over and over I have become keenly aware of walls and closed doors (putting these in the same category of general obstacles). On countless occasions I have returned from some enlightening or inspiring experience- be it prayer or meditation, talk or sermon, retreat or conference, or simply a walk along the river- inspired, and even called to some action. And over and over I have faced almost immediately the slamming door- an emergency work meeting or family situation, a high-priority task list, financial woes, and naysayers- something that caused me to set aside the dream, and address instead the situation at hand. Something that stood in the way.
Conventional wisdom holds that we look at these obstacles as challenges we must overcome and stay focused on the goal. Keep to the path... stay the course. But after awhile, I think we have to face the wall.
We have to look at the walls more closely- and to see which of those walls might be of our own imagining or creation. Maybe we will see our own faces in those walls-- our monsters, our shadows, our dragons. And if we begin to face them and speak to them, maybe they will begin to dissolve or transform into something else, something we can learn to be with and to hold.
And maybe we also have to look again at our reason for the journey. Maybe we have to ask just why we are pushing so hard- and what for? Because if we have forgotten the reason that inspired us... and are just so hell-bent on getting through... then perhaps we might need to go back and remember who we are and what moved us in the first place.
I also wonder if there might be a time in walking the journey when the wall is the journey. It is the essential pause, the moment of facing the self, the moment of deepening awareness. It is the essential task at hand-- and our call is not to the dream beyond, but to the wall that stands in the way.
Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who's the fairest one of all? The fairy tale sings...
In another fairy tale- a frog slammed against a wall turns into a prince.
In walls- perhaps- lie the vision and the transformation of ourselves, if we can learn to see them rightly. And I cannot arrive on the other side until I have faced myself, both fair and un-fair aspects, and splayed from ugliness into the beauty within.
So I am grateful for my walls-- tears and all-- that are telling me more and more about myself on the journey to transformation.
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