An open door – 2 December 2019

A woman stands by an open door, about to pass through it, when she turns to her left and considers an alternative. The woman is partly hidden, we cannot see her face or know her mood or intent. Which door will she choose?

This is a picture of interior space, one room opening into another. The rooms are cool, clean and light. They invite exploration. They stand as a metaphor for the interiority of each person. Within us all is the possibility of personal exploration, through which we might learn more about ourselves. There are some doors through which we readily pass, others that remain closed to us. The invitation here is to consider opening and going through a different door, to discover what might be found in an interior space not previously explored.

The painting is by Vilhelm Hammershoi (1864-1916), a Danish painter know for interiors such as this, influenced by the work of Vermeer.

You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,^a
will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.”

Psalm 91:1-2

The ‘interior castle’ of the human soul, as Teresa of Avila called it, has many rooms, and they are slowly occupied by God, allowing us time and room to grow.

Dallas Willard

I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that
I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
And you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
Amen

Thomas Merton