When little birds are readying to fly, there’s an instinctive, irresistible calling that eventually requires stepping over the threshold from the sanctuary of the nest into the expanse of the sky.

When I open the door of the house for Lily, my feline friend, she settles awhile on the wooden threshold. Ears perked. Whiskers twitching. Eyes focused and scanning the land. She’s gathering up multitudes of stories and information. She’s sensing the possibilities given where she is and what has been, and how, why, and where she may choose to go with her next steps.

In contemporary human societies, there are common markers of threshold moments – new calendar years, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, births, deaths, and graduations. Some of these are calculated with numbers. Some come with official certificates. Yet so many threshold moments are overlooked, uncelebrated, feared, and misunderstood.

Thresholds are fertile ground. There’s spaciousness in the in-betweens. Thresholds weave fibers of connection between leaving and arriving, between ending and beginning, between what’s familiar and the mystery of the adventure yet to be lived.

There’s an opening when standing on the threshold, in whatever amount of time measured by the clock, to gather information from within and around you, to listen to the knowings of your body, spirit, and heart.

There’s room to shift from what has been into the realm of possibilities for what you’ll create with the next words you speak, or actions you take, or passions you reclaim, or innovative visions you see.

Where are you standing now?

What are you readying for?

Which doorway of change is your heart calling you toward?