Recognition: Opening the Doors Day 1 — The First Door

"The person you are looking for may not be lost at all. They may simply be standing behind a door you built long ago to survive."

When people begin searching for themselves,

often believe something has been lost.

They say things like:

"I don't know who I am anymore."

"I used to be different."

"I feel disconnected from myself."

But what if the person you are searching for isn't gone?

What if they have been there all along?

Life has a way of teaching us how to survive. Sometimes that means becoming stronger. Sometimes it means becoming quieter. Sometimes it means learning not to trust, not to hope, not to speak, or not to feel too deeply.

Without realizing it, we build doors.

Not because we are weak.

Because we are human.

A child who was criticized may build a door around their creativity.

A person who was betrayed may build a door around their trust.

Someone who carried responsibility for everyone else may build a door around their own needs.

Over time, the door becomes so familiar that we forget it is there.

We begin to believe the part of ourselves behind it has disappeared.

But disappeared and hidden are not the same thing.

The dream you set aside may still be there.

The gentleness you stopped showing may still be there.

The laughter, curiosity, courage, wonder, and hope you once carried may still be there.

Waiting.

Not lost.

Waiting.

Today is not about forcing the door open.

It is not about tearing down walls or becoming someone new.

Today is simply about recognizing that the door exists.

Because recognition is where every journey begins.

You cannot open a door you do not know is there.

So today, pause for a moment and ask yourself:

What part of me have I been protecting for so long that I forgot it still exists?

Come, sit with me for awhile.

Perhaps the first door is closer than you think.