What your entrance says about you
- Inbar Lee Hyams
- Feb 16
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 26
February 16, 2025
I've been thinking about doorways lately. Not the feng shui aspects (though we'll get there), but the simple act of walking through them.
How many times have I passed a neighbor with grocery bags or screaming toddlers at my building's entrance and offered only a sympathetic smile? How often have I justified it with "I'm in a rush" (to vacuum the dog hair in the living room) or even: "She probably doesn't want help".
And then I read this week's Torah portion, Mishpatim. Right after the cosmic drama of Mount Sinai, we get what seems like a mundane legal code about our personal responsibility in creating a just society.
What strikes me is how these are laws, not suggestions or aspirations. They're concrete. Specific. Like the laws of energy, they operate whether we're in the mood for them or not. (And let's be honest, I'm rarely in the mood when I'm juggling my own groceries and pretending not to make eye contact.)
This is where our spaces come in. When we organize our physical world thoughtfully, we make it easier to treat each other better. It's about creating conditions for both positive energy and positive interaction to become instinctive.
Lunar Cycles
The moon is waxing gibbous, nearly three-quarters full, illuminating our path forward. In this growing light between obligation and inclination, what possibilities are we cultivating? What stories do we tell ourselves about why we can't help, can't change, can't open our spaces and hearts to others? As the moon builds toward fullness, consider how we might expand our capacity for justice and compassion.
Room of the Week: The Entryway
The entrance does double duty - it's both the mouth of chi and our point of interface with the world, overseeing all the transitions between inside and outside, between "mine" and "theirs."
Like Mishpatim's laws, which address both spiritual energy and social responsibility, our thresholds manage two vital flows:
They govern how life force energy enters and circulates through our homes. A well-balanced entrance attracts positive opportunities while filtering and processing external influences.
They also shape our daily interactions - the physical point where private meets public, where we practice both boundary-setting and welcome.
Daily Energy Focus
Sunday (Yang/Sun)
Look at your entryway in broad daylight. What's the first thing others see? What's the first thing you see when coming home? If justice begins at home, our entrances should reflect both welcome and dignity.
Monday (Yin/Moon)
Notice how your entry space feels at night. Is it well-lit? Safe? Accessible? Sometimes justice is as simple as making sure others can navigate our spaces safely.
Tuesday (Fire/Joy)
Add warmth to your threshold. A bench where delivery people can rest packages, a hook for the maintenance worker's coat. Small courtesies create ripples of kindness.
Wednesday (Water/Flow)
Check how energy moves through your entryway. Are there obstacles that force others to contort themselves? Like justice, good chi should flow freely, not just for some but for all.
Thursday (Wood/Growth)
Place something living near your entrance. A plant, fresh flowers - something that reminds you that growth requires both structure (like laws) and nurturing (like kindness).
Friday (Metal/Structure)
Clear your threshold with purpose. The structured energy of metal asks: What barriers - physical or psychological - are we maintaining at our entrances?
Saturday (Earth/Grounding)
Sit in your entryway for five minutes. Feel the meeting point between private and public, between personal comfort and collective responsibility.
PS:
In Mishaptim there's a repeated emphasis on protecting the vulnerable - the stranger, widow, orphan, and poor. But there's also this fascinating command: if you see your enemy's donkey struggling under its burden, you must help unload it. Not your friend's donkey. Your enemy's.
This teaches that justice transcends personal feelings - we have obligations even to those we don't like.
And sometimes, the most spiritual acts are the most practical ones.
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