One day, after my second divorce, when I was living in Manhattan Beach, CA and working as a social worker, I came home to find an enormous puppy sitting on my front step. It was a light brown baby mastiff. I will never forget that huge head on that roly-poly baby body. He greeted me with innocent puppy joy, wagging his entire body.
I knew that this puppy belonged to my neighbor next door, Bob, a single man, because I had seen him walking his dog past my house many times. But after divorcing a second time, I had closed the window on men forever. Would I knock on Bob’s door and tell him I had his beloved pet? No way. I waited for him to knock on my door looking for his dog. I had taken the puppy inside, but would I allow Bob to come in and retrieve him? Absolutely not! In closing the window on all men, I had cut myself off from many possible friendships, including my neighbor, and I had made a relationship with an adorable puppy impossible. That lovable puppy was responsible for slowly opening my window. How could I resist? I gradually became more friendly with my neighbor, albeit for the sake of his dog.
It is easy to close our windows, but it is not so easy to open them again. In closing the window, we shut down a portion of our Soul. Our inner soul-light cannot shine out, and, for sure, the NEW cannot come in. That dark area of our Soul contracts the “shriveling disease”. The area behind the closed window shrivels because it cannot feel as long as the window remains closed. This shriveling disease can spread from one area to another. Eventually, we don’t feel anything. Life becomes a pretense. It is very uncomfortable to live with shriveling disease because we know we are missing life but we don’t know why.
Fortunately, we can do something about shriveling disease. The first step to opening our windows and regaining our Energy of Feeling is talking to strangers, someone in line at the post office or the grocery store, the clerk at Bed, Bath and Beyond, anyone totally unknown to you. Talk not just about the weather, although that is always a good opener, but tell them something good you see about them. You will be surprised at how people respond to a little friendly appreciation. You are giving them Energy, and in return, you receive Energy because your windows are opening.
Don’t let shriveling disease happen to you! If you would like to learn more about Open Windows, kindly e-mail me at dorothyseeger@gmail.com to set up a half-hour getting-to-know-you appointment. I would love to hear from you.