As I watched a woman in a large corner home open the door to her housekeeper and child at 8 a.m. on a Friday morning, I mused, wouldn’t we all prefer to be the one living in that house rather than the one coming to clean it?
Perhaps. Yet Nature herself continually creates, maintains and destroys; that’s the essence of the life cycle.
While I think of myself primarily as a creator, the world needs daily maintenance — not least because of the mess we bipeds tend to leave behind. I wipe down sinks in public restrooms and often have to clean off outdoor tables before I can sit to eat at places like Whole Foods or our local Community Market; the staff can’t keep up with the detritus.
The Doors of Perception
Daily life is one of maintenance and renewal. Poet and novelist Marge Piercy writes,
“The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.”
(excerpted from To Be of Use, © 1982)
Yet I’ve found myself disdaining some whose work entails tidying up the universe rather than contributing something fresh. In the pre-COVID era, the former maintenance manager at a local community center appeared almost comically addicted to keeping the exterior doors locked. When I sat inside to use their WiFi, I witnessed him checking and re-locking the doors at least a half dozen times within a few hours. It seemed a pointless exercise, as people streamed into the center for classes, meetings, and other events all day long.
Directly across the outdoor quad from the community center was a new senior wing. It was designed to be ADA compliant in every way — except the architects didn’t take into account many older adults’ diminished upper body strength. Over time, several women became trapped in the restrooms, whose heavy oak doors are almost impossible for someone using a walker or wheelchair to negotiate. So the community center’s maintenance counterpart now has the additional responsibility of constantly ensuring all eight restroom doors (two for each gender, at opposite sides of a long corridor in a 2-story building) remain stoppered open each weekday from 9 to 5.
There’s poetry to this, and a bit of Divine humor as well.
Years ago, metaphysical teacher and author Louise Hay made many audiotapes accompanied by the musical group Alliance. One I listened to repeatedly was, “Doors Closing, Doors Opening,” and while it focused on personal growth rather than physical structures, I find it amusingly applicable to the situations I’ve described. The main lyric went, “Doors closing, doors opening, doors closing, doors I’m opening. I am safe, it’s only change. I am safe, it’s only change…”
Are you opening doors or closing them? Do you create or maintain? Does your life weave between the two, and if so, are you growing in ways that feed your soul?
Mother Nature is always in motion. It’s important to clean up our messes and keep the doors to possibility open. And maybe, unlocking what seems a necessary barrier will let in some surprising gifts that may change your perception and release a fresh flow of creativity.
© 2014-2021 Amara Rose
About the Author:
Amara Rose, Managing Editor of Ascension Lifestyle, is widely published in health, business, lifestyle, and new thought magazines, both digital and print. Visit LiveYourLight.com, where you can also subscribe to her monthly e-newsletter, What Shines.
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