Pausing at the threshold: noticing more in everyday moments

By Lanette Vawter, Director of Leadership Development

I’ve just returned from a vacation to the south of France, where I spent several days visiting medieval villages. As we walked through narrow cobblestoned streets, I noticed the charm and beauty of the thresholds and doorways. These are everyday homes that are still occupied, although updated with modern conveniences.

It occurs to me that to cross a threshold is an opportunity to encounter the holy. The beauty of a threshold can make us pause and encounter ourselves, the world, and the holy in a deeper way. These medieval thresholds had me pausing and contemplating a thousand years of souls crossing a similar threshold across a vast span of time.

The beauty of the old cathedrals, the azure colour of the Mediterranean Sea, and the ringing of a church bell can all be thresholds to the sacred if we pause long enough to sense this. Closer to home, it might be our church doors, campgrounds, the forests, or beautiful music that open a threshold within us to the holy.

Today, as you go through a doorway or move from one location to another, perhaps try pausing for a moment to notice the beauty and the holiness as you cross this threshold.