This week, we’re exploring what it means to cross thresholds—those pivotal moments when we step from one state into another. It sounds profound until you remember that most thresholds involve doors. Doors have instructions. We ignore them. What follows is a comedic field report from the front lines of human vs. architecture.
🚪 The Evidence
I walked up to the coffee shop entrance with the confidence of someone who has successfully opened thousands of doors. I grabbed the handle and yanked. Nothing moved. I pulled harder, now committed to this approach. Still nothing.
The small silver letters at eye level read “PUSH.”
Three people behind me suddenly found their phones fascinating.
I pushed through (correctly this time) and headed toward the restroom. Different entrance, fresh start, confidence fully restored. I leaned my shoulder in like a detective in a crime show. Nothing budged. A staff member reached past me, pulled the handle, and it swung open with ease.
The sign said “PULL” in letters the size of my palm.
The glass scenario is worse. You know the one. Someone strides toward what they think is an opening and walks face-first into pristine glass. They push, all right. With their entire face. The lesson arrives instantly and embarrassingly, courtesy of fundamental physics.
I witnessed this at the airport last year. A businessman in a perfect suit, rolling his carry-on, talking on his phone, walked directly into a spotless glass panel next to the actual entrance. The sound landed somewhere between a thud and a squeak. He bounced back, looked around to see who noticed (everyone), straightened his tie, and walked through the correct opening three feet to the left.
The passage was there the whole time. He just couldn’t see it.
🤔 Why We Do This
The instructions are always there. One word. Clear. Unambiguous. Yet we march up to these passages with complete faith in our assumptions and zero interest in what’s actually written. We decide our method before arrival, usually based on the last entrance we encountered or some vague feeling about how this one should work.
We laugh at these moments because they reveal something true. Some passages open when we lean in with force. Others yield when we step back and pull. Some stay invisible until we collide with them. We waste considerable energy pushing against things designed to pull, pulling away from things designed to push, occasionally missing the opening entirely because we’re too focused on momentum to notice where it actually sits.
💡 The Point
That job might require gentle persistence over aggressive pursuit. The relationship might need space over pressure. The habit might change through invitation over willpower. Grief often softens when we finally stop fighting it.
A gentle touch reveals everything. Does it give when you press? Does it budge when you pull? Is there actually an opening here, or are you about to meet architecture face-first?
When something won’t budge, your method might need adjusting. The sign is right there. The glass is right there. The information you need already exists in plain view.
👉 What Now?
This week, when you face resistance, pause. Check the instructions. Feel for the give. Locate the actual opening. Some passages open when we push. Others open when we pull. Some require us to take three steps to the left and start completely over.
The wisdom lives in knowing which is which.
The alternative is explaining to strangers why you have a nose print on your glasses.
😇 Part of the Grace & Humor comedy track from Spirituality Today.
😜 Want something a little sharper? Try our Sacred Satire series.
📬 Share this reflection with someone who needs a reason to smile today.