The 1st threshold on the Journey:
​Knowing you are loved

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You are WORTHY of the journey

At this place on the path, we are standing before the first of four thresholds, the Threshold of Acceptance.  Careful attention must be given to opening this first interior gateway so that we may cross over into the new and strange world.  Before we take another step, we must know we are accepted, loved and worthy of this journey.  Then, as sojourners, we can negotiate the transformative and dangerous topography that lies ahead.  Thresholds are places on the path that cannot be avoided.  There is no detour here, no way around, just one way forward.  It is the way of love.

​We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that something deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.
e.e. cummings

​Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. 
They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; 
your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused.
- African saying

Three groups milling around at this threshold

Those happy with the Status Quo

These are the folks who believe we should turn around and head back to the ordinary world.  From their point of view, life is good enough.  This might be the largest group we encounter.   There are enough problems in everyday life to be concerned with much more than day to day living.  Their voices might say, “Is it really worth all the time and effort?”  ​

When faced with Crisis or with the sense that something must change, many turn to false refuge: speeding up; risk avoidance; perfectionism; addictive behaviors - all to avoid feeling “not ok."  Some turn to blame - of others and self.  Many just plain numb out.

Those wanting to go back

There is a growing movement of very passionate people who think the way forward is to turn to the past.  When faced with the fragmentation and challenges of the emerging world this group gets more tribal, more conservative, tightly embracing the fundamentals of faith.  “We need to return to our traditional values and world views.”  Learning from the past is the primary modality in which the world operates.  It informs both secular and religious educational systems.  Certainly there is much to learn through history and tradition.  It would be foolish to ignore the hard and often painful lessons learned through history.  But there are lessons that cannot be learned from the past.  There is an evolution of thinking about and engaging with reality that one can only sense by looking to the future with a posture of openness and a willingness to let go of the past.

Those ready for the adventure

Those who believe, like us,  that in order to participate in the healing of the planet and all that is broken, we need to be engaged in this intentional adventure of transformation.  It is wise to know these people with whom we will journey.  Look for a few who have been down this road before.  What might they “look” like?  How would you know one?

Here is the place of "blessing" - words and gestures that dissolve shame.  Here is a community of belonging without which the way ahead becomes impossible.  Here is the point where you remember who you are:  worthy; loved;  accepted; ready.

Without this threshold of "being loved" you will continue to find false refuge in the smaller, more constricted story of your life.

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The Challenge:  Self Doubt

​Practice:  Giving and receiving a BLESSING of Compassion and Deepening a Sense of Belonging

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Now you are ready for the Adventure:  Opening the mind and heart

​Actor Wentworth Miller Talks About Coming Out, Overcoming Struggles at Human Rights Campaign Dinner
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This speaks to the power of community and having allies on the journey to being who we are born to be.  Wentworth also highlights the first Threshold on the Journey, having the courage to open up and step into being our true selves knowing we are loved and held in a community of trust.  This is a clear story of stepping out of a small, constricting story whose narrative is shame, into a larger story of transformation.  This is the beginning of the Journey from "I & me to us & we".