Be an Opener of Doors

“Be an opener of doors” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

A few weeks ago, as I neared the departure time for a long-anticipated, long-planned for journey, I thought about doors and portals and thresholds. I chose the traveling theme “DOORS” and planned to take a photograph and/or write a few words with that theme in mind whenever the opportunity felt right.

Doors and thresholds and portals – to new and exciting places. Stepping through bus doors and plane doors and hotel doors; past doors that have witnessed centuries of human existence– some moments heartbreaking, some humbling, some honorable; through doors that lead to all sorts of mystical, magical places.

I like the thought that going through the threshold of a door takes only a single step. And that is what every journey is — a single step at a time.

Through an architectural passage or embarking on plane or train? Yes. But also a step into the unknown, through fears and all sorts of unnamed resistance. Every passage through every portal is a small victory, stepping from the known into the unknown, experiencing the ordinary which is at the same time extraordinary.

Closing one door and opening another to a whole new adventure, to a new discoveries of meaning and beauty in unusual places and things.

There are times when beauty reveals itself slowly. Human culture seems to build its temples of meaning in the wrong places, in the garish marketplaces of transient fashion and public image. Beauty tends to avoid the siren call of the obvious. Away from the blatant center, it prefers the neglected margin. Beyond the traffic of voyeuristic seeing, beauty waits until the patience and depth of a gaze are refined enough to engage and discover it. In this sense, beauty is not a quality externally present in something. It emerges at the threshold where reverence of mind engages the subtle presence of the other person, place or object.” ~ John O’Donohue, Beauty

Here are a few of the doors/portals/thresholds I either passed through or passed by on my recent travels:

  1. My door at home, taken as we passed through on our way to a two week adventure, our first travels across the pond to Europe.
  2. The door to the Van Galder bus which took us on the first leg of our trip — from the Memorial Union at University of Wisconsin Madison to O’Hare International Airport.
  3. The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, an hour’s train ride north of Copenhagen. One of our first experiences with the vast and efficient public transportation system in Europe. By asking lots of questions and getting the train station’s information guide to write out the destination (unintelligible to my ears because of the Danish accent) we arrived where we wanted to go. Amazing!
  4. Very red tunnel with sun-light “doors” which led to the Van Gogh exhibit at the ARKEN Museum of Modern Art. The ARKEN was a 30 minute ride from Copenhagen’s Central Station and gave us our first opportunity to experience train travel in Europe.
  5. Jeppe Hein’s Cage and Mirror stands near the bridge entrance to the ARKEN Museum.
  6. Passage from the Constellation Room to the Winter Garden on the ship Viking Sky.

  1. Door leading to the soldiers’ quarters at Kastellet (Citadel) in Copenhagen, the installation dates from 1663.
  2. The Norway Gate of the Kastellet with guard and entry gate, now more of a park and historical fort than an operating military installation, although it still has its own soldiers quartered on the grounds. Built in 1663.
  3. Amalienborg, the royal family’s residence in Copenhagen. Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary live here with their four children. Whenever they are present, the guards protect the residence. They carry automatic weapons; the changing of the guard is not just for show.
  4. Gothenburg, Sweden. Gate to an overlook of the city proper.
  5. Side entrance to the Masthugget Church in Gothenburg, Sweden. Built in 1914 on a high hill close to the city, it’s a striking sight from afar.
  6. Guard entry to the Akershus Fortress, still a military installation though it is open to daytime visitors. Parts of the complex date to the 1290s.

  1. Gate at Akershus Fortress, Oslo.
  2. Interior courtyard door at Aalborghus Castle in Aalborg, Denmark. Half-timbered castle built by King Christian III from 1539 to around 1555 as a fortification.
  3. Door to the dungeon where a woman of noble birth, accused of witchcraft, was held until trial. An Aalborg legend.
  4. Door of the house built in 1624 by Jens Bang, a wealthy merchant, and for more than 300 years, the building had been the home of Aalborg’s oldest pharmacy.
  5. A peek into a garden courtyard in one of the oldest residential areas in Aalborg.
  6. Pretty houses/doorways in historic Aalborg.

  1. Decorated door in Fredericia, Denmark. Neighbors and friends decorate doors for memorable occasions, typically a 25th or 50th wedding anniversary, though this door’s decor celebrated newlyweds.
  2. Kiel Maritime Museum. Interior door.
  3. A peek into the courtyard between the Hamburg (Germany) City Hall — more like a state capitol as Hamburg is a city-state — and the Hamburg Stock Exchange. Fountain of Hygenia, an important goddess who’s a symbol for hygiene. (Dating back to when sewers were open and flowing in the streets, she was of great importance…)
  4. Doors of St. Peter’s Church, parts of which date from 1100s. Hamburg Germany.
  5. Entrance to Hamburg’s City Hall building.
  6. A home on a canal in Amsterdam. Shiny white walls, red bricks, and a black door. In this historic area, these are some of the “allowable” colors for buildings.

 

My Word of the Year for 2015 – and an Invitation Extended

Cross the Threshold ©2012 Bo Mackison

The invitation . . .

. . . the invitation to cross the threshold,  to listen to one’s intuition and wisdom.

Water Lilies and Reflection

Reflection of Skies in the Midst of Water Lilies ©2014 Bo Mackison

. . . the invitation to encourage those thoughts, feelings, and emotions, buried in the depths, to rise to the surface.

Open Way

The Open Passage ©2014 Bo Mackison

. . . the invitation to be open to, and accepting of, that which strengthens.

Debi's Tree

Fog and Sunlight © 2013 Bo Mackison

. . . the invitation to listen to that which offers hope.

Sumac Flags Flying

Sumac in Autumn – Nature’s Prayer Flags ©2013 Bo Mackison

. . . the invitation to embrace and embody love and respect.

New York City – So Much to See, So Much to Do!

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Coffee to Start the Day © 2014 Bo Mackison

Start the morning with the largest cup of coffee in sight. A very good beginning.

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Harlem School Children’s Mural © 2014 Bo Mackison

Then a walk through the neighborhood, brightened by a long wall of children’s. There is something about community art that makes the whole street a happier place to walk

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MOMA Interior © 2014 Bo Mackison

Pre-baby-shower duties performed, we took a two break and visited MOMA. We arrived early enough to beat the Saturday crowd, and so had no lines to negotiate. Matisse’s Cut Out Exhibit was a surprise bonus (no photos inside the exhibit though.)

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Shower for Smudge © 2014 Bo Mackison

Baby shower fun and games. So happy we were able to be there to celebrate with daughter, soon to be mama.

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Tea Blossom © 2014 Bo Mackison

After the party, it was time to relax with a cup of tea. Specially brewed with a tea blossom – a bud of tightly wrapped tea leaves that opens like a flower when submerged in hot water. Beautiful.

Cloudy Skies, City Lights — and the Gift of Presence and Time

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December in New York City © 2014 Bo Mackison

There is something reviving about colorful lights, dangling stars, a mesmerizing light show, all against the backdrop of cloudy skies and rain-soaked streets.

There is something precious about a reunion of family, the reconnection of a mother and her two daughters, and a day that stretches forward at a leisurely pace with no plans, no hurrying, no outside commitments.

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Bakery overlooking the City © 2014 Bo Mackison

There is something priceless about an unhurried conversation, face to face. No cell phones, no Skype interface. Conversations that are funny, serious, full of hope and longing, conversations that range from the past, to the present and the future beyond.

There is something about a comfort food lunch. Grilled cheese and tomato soup. Rice pudding for dessert.

More stories and laughter, memories and wonder, questions and pondering and even an answer or two.

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December in NYC © 2014 Bo Mackison

There is something, oh so special, about the waiting, the anticipation of that first child. Something equally special about the waiting of your first child’s — your daughter’s — first child.  The endless wondering — will the baby be a boy or a girl, what names are still in the running, oh, and what will the next six weeks bring forth?

That is how I spent a part of this past weekend — in conversation and connection. With hope and anticipation. Soaking up the gift of the presence of time and  togetherness with my girls.

Priceless gift.

Thirty-One Thresholds – A Traveling Threshold Not to Be Missed

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Threshold – On the Plane © 2014 Bo Mackison

Out the door in the early morning dark. A car ride across town. Suitcases unloaded at “Departures” at the airport. Check in at the airlines. Through security. A brief stay in the waiting area at Gate 8 and then down the gateway to the waiting aircraft.

Biggest threshold of the morning — the single step from the airport to the airplane.

I wasn’t planning on counting this trip as a threshold, but after some thought, I decided that this weekend has innumerable thresholds. All well worth counting!

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Early Morning Take-Off © 2014 Bo Mackison

I’ve done a lot of traveling in the last few months. I’ve not been not anticipating another weekend of travel, but the reason for the travel is a good one, a great one. A reason not to be denied. I’m visiting one of my daughters who lives half way across the country. And I have a suitcase full of gifts.

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In the Sky Heading East © 2014 Bo Mackison

I’ve been invited to attend a baby shower, and the expectant mama is my older daughter, so there is little hesitation. No matter what, I am on my way!

Grateful that I am traveling with family, that I will be staying with family, and that we will be visiting the Big Apple, a city that I could never live in but that I love visiting! Grateful that I have the opportunity to attend this celebratory party, that I can take part in the special moments of waiting for this first baby.

And recalling the baby shower I attended over thirty years ago, the baby shower when I was expecting my first child — my daughter who is now expecting her first baby.

Such excitement.