Crossing the Threshold – Returning Back to You

Hiding Inside Old Safety

 

Let me ask you a question…

 

Is it easier to stay hidden inside old safety rather than gently crossing the threshold and returning back to you?

 

You know, there comes a moment on our journey where something inside of us quietly whispers “I cannot keep living like this anymore.” Not dramatically. Not loudly. Not just a feeling but a soft inner knowing that…

 

• the old ways no longer fit us
• the hiding is becoming too painful
• the constant shrinking is becoming exhausting

…and that voice within is asking us to breathe more deeply, more consciously.

 

But here is the strange thing about growth. Even when we deeply feel the need to change…a part of us is still afraid and resists. And honestly, that fear makes complete sense because our nervous system doesn’t often perceive joy, visibility, expansion, or authenticity as being “safe.” It just recognises what is familiar to us, even when what is familiar is…

 

• doubting ourselves
• overthinking
• staying small
• hiding
• postponing our dreams
• waiting until we feel “ready”

 

Sometimes we just remain inside old safety not because it feels good but because it is familiar. It feels known. And there is a difference. A huge difference.

 

 

 

When the pain of continuing exceeds the pain of stopping, a threshold is crossed. What seemed unthinkable becomes thinkable.  Gary Zukav

 

 

 

 

 

Recently, I felt this very deeply within me. After weeks of creating, writing, organising, and slowly building the foundations of the work I truly care about, I suddenly caught myself feeling uncomfortable and not knowing what to do. That old familiar fear and awkwardness was rising inside of me…all feeling like a big rock in my belly! And that old voice whispering…

 

“Who do you think you are?”

“What if this fails?”

“What if nobody is interested?”

“What if you’re not ready?”

“What if you’re seen?”

 

And for a moment, I could feel myself wanting to quickly retreat back into safety again. Back into hiding. Back into waiting.

But this time something changed. I suddenly looked at the small tealight flame gently glowing on my desk in front of me and some words I had written a few months ago came to mind…

 

“I am ready to remember who I am.
I cross this threshold to meet myself with presence, softness and truth.
This flame is my remembering.
Let it guide me back home to me.”

 

And as I sat there looking at the flame, I felt something softening. Not because the fear had disappeared but because I remembered. I remembered that I don’t need to force myself across the threshold. I only need to move gently towards myself.

 

 

 

We stand in life at midnight; we are always at the threshold of a new dawn. Martin Luther King Jr

 

 

 

One of the biggest misunderstandings

 

 

I think this is one of the biggest misunderstandings about healing and growth. We imagine that transformation must look…

 

• dramatic
• fearless
• confident
• certain

 

But often real transformation looks much more like…

 

• shaky hands
• nervous breathing
• a heavy belly

 

…while choosing to continue and move forward anyway.

 

Because we must never forget that courage is not the absence of fear. Sometimes it is simply remaining present while fear is sitting right there beside you.

The word courage has always touched me deeply. It comes from the Latin word cor — that means heart.

Courage doesn’t mean force. It doesn’t mean hardness. It doesn’t mean fearlessness. It means heart.

True courage is not about pushing ourselves harshly beyond all of our limits but being willing to…

 

• stay connected to our heart
• remain present with our feelings
• move gently even when trembling
• listen inwards instead of abandoning ourselves

…while we move through our fears.

 

Courage doesn’t have to be loud. Courage can simply be placing one hand on your heart and whispering to yourself “Yes, I am afraid… but I am still here.” Because sometimes the bravest thing we can do is not to force ourselves forward but to cross the threshold softly, honestly, and with our heart still open. And perhaps this is what so many of us are truly longing for. Not to become someone else but to feel safe enough to become ourselves more fully.

 

 

 

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.” Mary Anne Radmacher

 

 

 

 

I think many people are carrying a quiet inner flame within them. A truth. A longing. A calling. A deeper self just waiting patiently beneath all those years of…

 

• pressure
• perfectionism
• fear
• overwhelm
• shame
• self-doubt

 

And often what we call “healing” is really just learning how to uncover that flame once again. How to protect it. How to trust it. How to listen to it. Allowing it to gently burn within us – at the core/cor of us. Not by pushing ourselves harshly into visibility. But by slowly teaching our nervous system that…

 

“It is safe for me to be here.”
“It is safe for me to express myself.”
“It is safe for me to take one small step.”
“It is safe for me to stop hiding.”

 

And maybe that is what crossing the threshold really means. Not just suddenly becoming fearless. But gently choosing…

 

• truth over hiding
• presence over perfection
• self-connection over self-abandonment
• and softness over force

 

Again. And again. And again.

You know, staying hidden inside old safety may protect us from feeling discomfort and awkwardness for a little while but it also keeps us separated from who we truly are. It keeps us separated from our true voice. From our gifts. From our inner flame.

And perhaps there comes a moment when that inner voice quietly says, “It’s time now.” Not time to become someone new but time to return to who you have always been beneath all the fear.

 

 

🌿 A Closing Reflection

 

Maybe there is a threshold standing quietly before you too. And that threshold could be…

 

*A conversation with someone.
*A dream you had.
*A creative path in front you.
*A truth you’ve discovered.
*A step forward.

 

And maybe fear is just sitting there right beside you. But know that that is okay, because fear doesn’t mean stopping, or giving in, or quitting.

But maybe this time, you don’t need to force yourself to move forward. Perhaps all you need to do is take one, small, gentle step towards that threshold. And then another.

Just returning back to you. Returning home to you.

One breath. One moment. One soft return at a time.

 

 

With BIG Love