The doors of our lives.

I love using metaphors in my writing in order to communicate the deeper truths. And one of the most applicable and easy to understand metaphors is that of a door.

I am also a little obsessed with the door photography, both my own and that of others. Luckily my place of residence, namely London Town has no shortage of lovely doors in different styles and colours. I believe we are drawn to different symbols for a reason, they communicate something deeper to us. Both in the dreams and in real life, symbolism is the language of the subconscious and is worth paying attention to.

So what do I find so very attractive about various doors I encounter in my daily life? Aesthetics can be very pleasing of course, but are usually just a tip of the iceberg, there is something deeper at play that my psyche is perceiving and resonating with.

To me the archetype of a door represents a potential of entering a new reality, a transition of some kind. When by opening a door and stepping inside, you leave a certain place behind you , and find yourself in a different environment. It can be exciting and nerve wracking at the same time. Unless the door in front of you leads to a place you have previously been to, there is no way of knowing what lies behind it. So in a sense, it is also about making a choice, having faith, trusting yourself and the universe. Depending on which door you choose to open, and which room to step into, a different timeline will come into being. Parallel reality stuff and all that. I believe there are many possibilities for us to choose from , and as I said in my previous article; with more growth and healing comes more expansion, and even more options to choose from. With this comes a greater responsibility, and yet a greater self-awareness, as knowing yourself better means you are able to discern which door is the right one for you to open. Which one will lead you to a place which aligns with your highest truth, your creative expression and hearts true desire.

And now to some commonly held beliefs, communicated through popular expressions.

When one door closes… another one opens, right? Metaphorically speaking, yes. But there is also a space in between. And in my opinion it is a lot more exciting than simply going from A to Z, as when one door closes, we have to get creative. Whether when it comes to finding a new door, or painting it, or trying different keys to unlock it.

Sometimes we have to pause altogether and catch a breath, recalibrate, reflect. Either way, we expand. We create new neural pathways in our brains. And the new door opens in our perception of life. As a result of our creativity. So it is definitely true what they say - no point banging on the door that just closed. Because it is a lot more fun to start paving the road for a new one to show up and open. And there are certainly plenty of colourful doors in this world.

A certain door in my life had to be closed recently due to a lack of integrity on the other side. I didn’t expect this, and at first a part of me wanted to make amends, clear the misunderstanding, repair the rupture. Let’s just say, it was a very convenient door to keep in my life, and quite a friendly one up until now. But after looking into the situation deeper and seeing a bigger picture so to speak, a realisation settled in. The illusion I previously had, and what this door was really about, were two different stories.

Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of a door symbol is that you are never truly stuck. There is always a possibility of opening a door to a new, better and brighter reality.

The shadow side of this is of course the possibility to open a wrong door and end up in a place that doesn’t fulfil you.

One way or another, we all encounter a variety of doors in our lifetime. Some of them swing wide open as soon as we approach them and welcome us to step inside, without as much as us lifting a finger. Jobs, vocations, relationships. Others remain closed, no matter how hard we knock. Yet some doors require us to find a right key to unlock them. Usually the key involves some kind of a transformation on our part; healing a wound, letting go of a pattern, acquiring a certain quality, learning a skill etc. Then, once our inner state aligns with the outer desired outcome - boom 💥, the door opens effortlessly. Yet, other times we are simply trying to open the wrong door for us, and that is the only reason we are not progressing.

Perhaps this discernment, this ability to tell apart the right door from the wrong one, is a very valuable asset, in order to not end up wasting one’s time. Having said that, it isn’t as black and white as the words wrong and right may make it sound. Certain detours may simply take us longer to arrive to the desired destination than others, but they all teach us valuable lessons.

A good question to ask when in doubt, is whether this particular door in front of us is indeed our heart’s true desire, or is a goal dictated by the society, and so does nothing for our purpose/souls evolution. Additionally, we often react so strongly when a door closes, not realising that whatever lies behind that door wasn’t meant for us in the first place. Or perhaps it was good for a certain amount of time, as a stepping stone to bigger and better things. Yet, we often hold on to the familiar, even if the familiar isn’t serving us at all.

The 🔑 is to remember that our minds have limitations in figuring things out, and to trust the wiser, and perhaps quieter parts of ourselves to lead the way. Trusting the intuition, listening to one’s heart, acknowledging one’s soul and letting the mind be a tool, not a master of our lives, in itself is a major evolutionary step we can take in our lifetime.