I pass the welcome mat when I come home and leave. In addition to being different, the mat triggers a unique reflection each time I pass. As I shuffled back after an extended sauna session at 92C (198F), I found myself pausing, listening to the whispers in the moment in stillness.
Everything points to the centre and the light which shines within. Visually, I see a visual variation on the 7 points of the Jewish candlestick known as a Menorah. The centre represents the experience one will receive in stepping over the hearth and into the home. Knowing the occupants, I can attest to the wonderful reception of friendship, acceptance, and hope I find myself in with every visit. Regardless of how I arrive, I leave energized, optimistic, and looking forward. In being welcomed, I am changed from the inside out.
A thread of light dispels darkness. Light always wins in the end. It fills what is not, changing everything. Old words play out as a transformational metaphor; “The rescuing gift is not exactly parallel to the death-dealing sin. If one man’s sin put crowds of people at the dead-end abyss of separation from God, just think what God’s gift poured through one man, Jesus Christ, will do!” (Romans 5.15)
As six are touched by the one, with every visit, transformation’s seeds are released. As the cycle repeats, hot to cold, darkness to light, despair to hope, lives are recreated and restored. The leverage is far greater than six to one as the potential exists for the one to become six more, the seven to become forty-two, and more.
I doubt purchasing the mat had my lessons in mind. The beauty of every action of compassion, caring, and community is the way that the ripples extend out and touch everything that follows. We know what it is to be changed for the better.
As I step towards home, I wonder what I will do with the lessons. Today is my opportunity to experiment and learn. In each moment, I can be the one for the six.
