Detail from 'Porta Fiorentina' (The Florence Door) by Daniele Ballerini, 2014 In the first sense of blog as “web log,” or log of connections you make to things you read on the web and in other places, here is a train of thought that started when I read a post from Leo Babauta’s great blog: Zen Habits (I highly recommend it… he writes consistently inspiring stuff.)
So, this day I read: “I once had a boss who had a favorite strategy for dealing with donations-seekers, demanding colleagues, and basically anyone who wanted anything from him he was reluctant to give.” http://zenhabits.net/inasec/
And I thought… I have a ‘boss’ (in my head) who is resisting a ‘me’ who is knocking on the door saying I want to be [FILL IN ANY DREAM]. The ‘boss’ says… delay, delay!! I don’t want to “give” [up anything]. She is hoping the ‘me’ who wants to be [FILL IN ANY DREAM] will eventually give up and go away. Why is the ‘boss’ reluctant to give? Why can’t she open the door to ‘ME’ and welcome her in? What is it about her that threatens the ‘boss’? How is it that ‘the boss’ has so much power!
This ‘boss’ is fighting to keep everything safe, neat and in order, insists that her ‘employees’ are polite and circumspect, follow the rules, don’t upset the “right” order of things. She invents all kinds of seemingly valid reasons for not pushing ahead, growing, changing… or simply ignores the knock and stays busy with something else that maintains the status quo. One of my favorite poems came to mind as an answer to ‘the boss’ and I would like to share it here as I ‘heard’ it:
Go and open the door.
Maybe outside there’s a tree, or a wood, a garden,
or a magic city.
Go and open the door.
Maybe a dog’s rummaging.
Maybe you’ll see a face, or an eye, or the picture of a picture.
Go and open the door.
If there’s a fog it will clear.
Go and open the door.
Even if there’s only the darkness ticking,
even if there’s only the hollow wind,
even if nothing is there,
go and open the door.
At least there’ll be a draught.
The Door by MIROSLAV HOLUB
Translated from the Czech by Ian Milner
(I reorganized the spacing as I heard it answer my question. If you would like to read the original poem, you can find it here: Essential Poems from the Staying Alive Trilogy collected and introduced by Neil Astley (2012). (Kindle Locations 336-337). Bloodaxe Books.)
Does this sound familiar? If so, I’d love to hear from you.
Kate, 15 December 14
(Note on image: The image is a detail from the watercolor by Daniele Ballerini of the "Florence door" to Pescia, a small town in Tuscany where we spent four months this year. Italian towns historically had doors that could be closed at sunset and opened at sunrise to protect the town during the night. During the day the doors were guarded and you could not enter the town if you were armed. The names of the doors indicate the large city the road goes towards/comes from, depending on your perspective. These days the doors remain permanently open.)
So, this day I read: “I once had a boss who had a favorite strategy for dealing with donations-seekers, demanding colleagues, and basically anyone who wanted anything from him he was reluctant to give.” http://zenhabits.net/inasec/
And I thought… I have a ‘boss’ (in my head) who is resisting a ‘me’ who is knocking on the door saying I want to be [FILL IN ANY DREAM]. The ‘boss’ says… delay, delay!! I don’t want to “give” [up anything]. She is hoping the ‘me’ who wants to be [FILL IN ANY DREAM] will eventually give up and go away. Why is the ‘boss’ reluctant to give? Why can’t she open the door to ‘ME’ and welcome her in? What is it about her that threatens the ‘boss’? How is it that ‘the boss’ has so much power!
This ‘boss’ is fighting to keep everything safe, neat and in order, insists that her ‘employees’ are polite and circumspect, follow the rules, don’t upset the “right” order of things. She invents all kinds of seemingly valid reasons for not pushing ahead, growing, changing… or simply ignores the knock and stays busy with something else that maintains the status quo. One of my favorite poems came to mind as an answer to ‘the boss’ and I would like to share it here as I ‘heard’ it:
Go and open the door.
Maybe outside there’s a tree, or a wood, a garden,
or a magic city.
Go and open the door.
Maybe a dog’s rummaging.
Maybe you’ll see a face, or an eye, or the picture of a picture.
Go and open the door.
If there’s a fog it will clear.
Go and open the door.
Even if there’s only the darkness ticking,
even if there’s only the hollow wind,
even if nothing is there,
go and open the door.
At least there’ll be a draught.
The Door by MIROSLAV HOLUB
Translated from the Czech by Ian Milner
(I reorganized the spacing as I heard it answer my question. If you would like to read the original poem, you can find it here: Essential Poems from the Staying Alive Trilogy collected and introduced by Neil Astley (2012). (Kindle Locations 336-337). Bloodaxe Books.)
Does this sound familiar? If so, I’d love to hear from you.
Kate, 15 December 14
(Note on image: The image is a detail from the watercolor by Daniele Ballerini of the "Florence door" to Pescia, a small town in Tuscany where we spent four months this year. Italian towns historically had doors that could be closed at sunset and opened at sunrise to protect the town during the night. During the day the doors were guarded and you could not enter the town if you were armed. The names of the doors indicate the large city the road goes towards/comes from, depending on your perspective. These days the doors remain permanently open.)
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