Recently I came across these words from the poet David Whyte,
We are more than survivors and we are more than those who simply have to grit their teeth to get through. There is a door beneath everything we’ll walk right by, if we don’t stop to look with a troubled heart and a loving eye.
The door beneath everything that we might walk right by.
What I love about Whyte’s words is the reminder that no matter what we are going through right now, it is a doorway of some kind.
Maybe we are in a happy time. Maybe it’s a difficult time.
Maybe we’re just where we hoped we’d be. Maybe we are in a time not of our choosing.
Each is a doorway, and regardless of what we’re going through, this is right where we are and this moment is offering something to us. Yet what this moment is offering might pass us by if we do not “stop and look with a troubled heart and a loving eye.”
(I understand Whyte’s “troubled heart” in the biblical sense of “God’s gonna trouble the waters…” That means that the waters (or our hearts) will be stirred, and that it is only when the waters are stirred that something new can happen.)
For today, may we move through our lives with a stirred heart and loving eye, pausing to take in the moments we are passing through and noticing the door beneath everything.
2 Comments
Barb Simmons
Thank you for this reflection, Mike. I like a commentary I read by Brent Schlender. “The sun will set and the sun will rise, and it will shine upon us tomorrow in our grief and gratitude, and we will continue to live with purpose, memory, passion, and love.” We know that when we go through hard times, hopefully we emerge stronger with lessons learned. Maybe for some the down times can bring a transformative moment. Maybe that’s a door that opens. Whether you are going through an up or down time, be mindful of it and let it be.
Mary Sweeney
Thanks for the reflection, Mike. I’m still mulling it over it in my head. I hope you’ll be continuing these reflections, as they are so rich.
Commenting has been turned off.