Lessons from ordinary things

I am reflecting on ‘doorways’ today.  Seemingly ordinary things. In Roman mythology, Janus represents not only the god of doors and doorways but also the god of new beginnings and of endings. Janus is a two-faced god.  One face looks to the past, the other, to the future.

Doors open, close, and revolve.  An open door points to a new beginning, a way out, or a welcome to enter.  It may also show a path to what lies ahead.  A closed door may symbolise a dead end or imprisonment, or it may signal ‘do not disturb.’

The doorway I am thinking of is an actual one I come through every morning; one of ‘welcoming arms’ – of hospitality, of glowing light and uplifting presence.  This I like to think is not only because of its beauty, and craftsmanship and of the light it lets in through its ‘stained glass’ ancient panes, but also because of all the life and sacred presence it has welcomed and absorbed from hand and step-fall as they (and we) have ‘entered in’ for centuries.

It resonates for me with the ethos of hospitality and care that is Presentation Life – coming as a direct legacy from Nano (Woman of Welcoming Heart) whose heart was forever an open door of compassion and care.

The patience of ordinary things  

It is a kind of love, is it not?
How the cup holds the tea,
How the chair stands sturdy and foursquare,
How the floor receives the bottoms of shoes
Or toes. How soles of feet know
Where they’re supposed to be.
I’ve been thinking about the patience
Of ordinary things, how clothes
Wait respectfully in closets
And soap dries quietly in the dish,
And towels drink the wet
From the skin of the back.
And the lovely repetition of stairs.
And what is more generous than a window?

~ Pat Schneider
Another River: New and Selected Poems
Amherst Writers & Artists Press