Where will the next door lead you?
Where will the next door lead you?
A journey of doors.
Hello friends,
Do you ever think about doors?
Along with my many obsessions, I’ve acquired a fascination with doors.
I know all about screen doors. I sat behind them staring at the grassy pasture and cedar trees beyond the faded picket fence of grandma’s porch.
More than once, these words rang through my ears as I encountered a door.
“Don’t slam the door.”
“Close the door. You’re letting out the cold air.”
“Who left that door open?”
All those ordinary doors live in my memory. With my Brownie Starflash camera in hand, I never stopped to photograph the everyday doors that framed my life.
“The ache for home lives in all of us the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” —Maya Angelou
Some doors creak. Others close us in. But the doors that open life to new adventures arouse my curiosity.
I started photographing doors on our trip to Italy in 2000. Those magnificent, ancient doors amazed me. The ones in my life lacked the character and intrigue that I discovered in the aged portals of Milan, Venice, Rome, and Florence.
The history behind those doors held stories and secrets, and I wanted in on the mystery.
Intricate carvings on these massive entryways invited, warned, or comforted those who chose or dared to walk through.
“In the unverse, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors.” —William Blake
Vivid colors entice visitors to step in. What will you find? As we waited to enter the British Museum, this nineteenth-century bookstore called to me.
Ancient walls collapsed over the centuries leaving remnants of doorways. We can only imagine this time and place. How many lives changed because of these doors?
I’ll probably keep looking for captivating doors. They remind me that I always have a choice to walk through them—in or out.
“Often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.” —Helen Keller
Never forget the doors of remembrance that remind us of who we are, where we’ve been, and define our future.
I found another lover of doors, Dan Antion, who loves the craftsmanship of wooden doors. Dan celebrates them every Thursday.
Enjoy a musical tribute to doors by Credence Clearwater Revival’s Lookin’ Out My Back Door, or sing along with Love Is an Open Door.
“There's a difference between fear and paralysis. And I've learned that I don't have to "grow up" to be open to opportunity, to be willing to step through doors without being pushed. I just have to be brave. I just have to be slightly braver than I am scared.” ― Victoria Schwab
Find a little wonder this week as you open and close the doors in your world.
With gratitude,
Kathryn
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Hi Kathryn - really loved your message about doors and the photos are incredible! It made me think about the concept of doors — even those that are not really there but are an entrance to another step or path or opportunity. Just like an open gate or archway or path in the forest - they are also like an entrance or door to another place in our life’s journey. Even a patient in the hospital is possibly at the entrance of a doorway not visible yet real for how their life moves on. Very thought provoking. Thank you for encouraging boundless thoughts - ah, a door to reflection and realization of the doors in our mind. How beautiful! Genie
I Loved the doors in Europe as well! So much history and possibility in these portals, especially the ruins. Thanks for the memories.