I’ve been thinking a lot about thresholds—in light of the time in which we find ourselves. There is so much that can divide us, if we allow it to. There is also profound opportunity to transform divides into thresholds.
The word threshold originally referred to the doorway leading to the threshing floor—the place where grain was sorted, sifted, and separated. To cross a threshold was to move from one space to another, from one way of being into the next. It required pause. Attention. Discernment.
Anthropologists describe such moments as liminal—from the Latin limen meaning threshold. Liminal spaces are in-between places: between identities, between stories, between the life we have known and the life that is waiting to be born.
We tend to resist these spaces. They feel uncertain, uncomfortable, and disorienting. And yet, across time, thresholds have been the very places where transformation becomes possible. Standing at a threshold often requires patience—to wait without rushing forward, to remain present without retreating backward. This does not come naturally to us, particularly in cultures shaped by speed, certainty, and control.
Thresholds can be large and life-altering. They can also be quiet and subtle. Some arrive with joy and surprise; others with grief, confusion, or unease. Many carry both. Whether we arrive by choice, by circumstance, or by forces beyond our control, a threshold is always a place of possibility.
It invites us to stop.
To look around.
To listen.
To imagine.
To question.
To tend what is stirring within us.
Every threshold carries the same essential question: How will you cross?
Across ancient teachings and perennial wisdom, three qualities repeatedly emerge as essential for crossing well—not as roles to perform, but as inner postures to cultivate.
- Humility To cross as one who does not lead with credentials or certainty—but with openness, attentiveness, and courage. Humility allows us to engage difference without defensiveness and complexity without collapse.
- Wisdom Not naïveté, but clear seeing. Discernment. The capacity to understand systems, read contexts, and act with both intelligence and restraint. Wisdom integrates insight with lived experience.
- Integrity A commitment to coherence between inner life and outward action. To cross with honesty, compassion, and a willingness to take responsibility when we fall short. Integrity is not perfection—it is alignment.
Together, these qualities shape a way of crossing that is neither forceful nor passive, neither reckless nor rigid allowing us to cross with intention and grace.
Blessings in whatever threshold crossings you encounter in this new year. Know that The Meetinghouse is here to support you. May you come to restore, dwell, discover and more!
With gratitude and appreciation for the journey shared,
