The Crossing of the First Threshold
When we as modern people think of a threshold, we think of the old concept of a newlywed bride being carried through the doorway of her new home. The lower part of the doorframe, the piece you step over as your entire any room is the threshhold.
There’s an ancient story of when the holy Ark of the Covenent (the artifact from Raiders of the Lost Ark) was captured by an enemy tribe. This group of people called the Philistines took the Israelites’ sacred object to the temple of their chief god, Dagon. This was spiritual gloating on their part. It said, “Hey Israelites, our god is bigger and better than yours!”
But when the Philistine priests of the temple of Dagon came in the next morning they found the statue of Dagon on its face before the Ark of the Covenent. The priests set the holy embodiment of Dagon back up and the second day, they walked into their temple and found Dagon shattered across the temple threshold.
From that day onward, the priests of Dagon refused to step on the threshold of their own temple because in their ancient worldview the shattering of their god Dagon, in his own temple, across his own threshold meant that the threshold was not Dagon’s - but belonged to the God of the Israelites who sat on the Ark of the Covenent as judgement and mercy seat. (Think of modern judge’s desk where they hold court and you’ll get the proper image.)
They viewed this threshold as ‘dangerous turf,’ a border between what belonged to their god Dagon and the God of the Israelites.
This is similar to what crossing the threshold means in the monomythic quest structure. By stepping over the threshold, the hero or shero is moving into unknown and possibly dangerous territory. It is territory beyond what is safe.
During the COIVD-19 lockdowns of 2020 there was a lot of fear to move outside our homes, so for some people stepping over the threshold of their own exterior door became terrifying and came with great risk. They were literally afriad of death outside their homes, just as the ancient priests were afriad of treading on the turf of the Hebrew God, even though it was in their own country.
As we move forward as an international community, we need to step over the threshold and into new and better things. We need to reacquaint ourselves with healthy risk levels and learn to live without fear again.
This will be an adventure…
On our adventure into 2023 we need to push back against fears, move out from our overly safe places and do something for a greater good. Collapse, fear and danger are everywhere we look and while we need to understand the risks, what is more important is that we need tell ourselves better stories. Fearless stories… stories where we as inviduals dare to do things beyond our comfort zone, stories where we dare to believe we have the courage to change the world.
We need heroes and sheroes… and we are going to have to answer the call, stop being victims and face the challenges if we want better futures.
The journey of a thousand steps, amazing adventure, and heartfelt courage begins with stepping over the the threshold.
Welcome to 2023.
Perpetual Disclaimer for this series:
I am not a counselor or a mental health professional. I am going to attempt to avoid things which will cause alarm or harm, but I can't know what will trigger each individual. If you need to speak to a mental health professional please know that there are resources available.
Your stories are amazing!
Chronic Writer