A threshold is the line, point, or space at an entrance—the place between one state and another, where you are no longer what you were, but not yet what you are becoming. It comes from the Old English therscold—the beam or sill at a doorway—meant to be stepped over deliberately, not rushed.

Our theme next year at CSL Kaua‘i is “Opening New Doors.” Right now, I am standing on the threshold of what that means. If a threshold is a space at an entrance between one state and another, and if I have not yet become what it is I will be, then I must have made some sort of decision about what that “something” is that I want to become. How long do we stand at the threshold before we take that first step? That is the question I am asking today. I can’t live on the threshold forever, for that would be a place of not deciding at all—pausing with no intention of crossing into a new life.

When you are starting a new life, crossing a new threshold, there is uncertainty. Just beyond it is the unknown—not unknown in that you do not know where you are going, but unknown in that you do not know how you will get there or who you will truly become.

For me, it is all about the feeling. What feeling is pulling me across that threshold? Is it escape? Is it a vision of a future that I say I want? Do I even know what I want?

The threshold is a liminal space—neither past nor future, but pregnant with possibility. From a quantum perspective, it is the place where nothing has been decided yet, a state of superposition where there are many possibilities, but the energy has not yet collapsed into form. The decision has not been made. Nothing has been observed yet. A liminal space is the moment when consciousness is deciding how possibility will take shape. What is important to us here? It is a moment of choice and awareness—a place where intention matters, the pause where identity shifts, the doorway where consciousness decides.

I believe one can stand at the threshold too long, waiting for something to take form before deciding. When that happens, we become subject to the “Law of Averages.” We are basically saying to the Universe – “I’ll just see what happens…” When we do not decide, the decision is often made for us, not always to our liking. Our word and our will are so powerful and the Universe is always listening.

I’m thinking of specific times in my life when I stood at the threshold in that liminal space. At the time, I might not have realized that this is what I was doing. I thought I was simply weighing the pros and cons, waiting for something to tell me it was okay to go this way or that. My outcomes usually had to be reversed at some future date after a lot of turmoil.

Then there were the times when I stood at the threshold, looked out into the unknown, and decided anyway. Something was pulling me in that direction. I knew I had to act, even if I could not see the proof. Those were the times when the best things happened in my life.

I also recall the times when I stood at the threshold and crossed in an attempt to escape something else. In those instances, I found myself standing at another threshold with the exact same situation, just in a different form. You know the saying, “Wherever you are, there you are.” If the threshold is a place where intention matters, then my intention must carry what I want—not what I am trying to run from.

Ernest Holmes wrote, “We stand at the beginning of a new era, not because time has changed, but because we have.” I believe I have changed, and a new era is presenting itself to me. I am no longer who I was thirteen years ago when we decided to come to Kaua‘i. As I stand at the threshold of the next chapter of my life, I am certain that I must be clear, intentional, and decisive. I must look into the unknown with clarity so that I can feel the collapse of energy into a definitive creation of my choosing.

There is much for all of us to think about before the clock strikes midnight on December 31, 2025. I believe this is a more important than usual threshold for all of us. I believe we must enter 2026 without a clear vision for our lives, our country, and our planet. We can no longer wait for someone else to tell us what to do, what is right for us, or what our next step should be. We must decide. As Ernest Holmes wrote, “We cannot live a choiceless life.” Because of our stewardship of volition and choice, our decisions are integral—not just for ourselves, but for the future of our planet. We can no longer say, “Let’s see what happens.” We are what happens.

What do I want? What do you want? Not just for yourself, but for future generations? This week, I saw some precious children with their parents, their guardians simply being themselves. I felt a deep responsibility to do something—to make it better for them by being all that I can be in every moment.

Ernest Holmes wrote, “Life is forever unfolding, and what it unfolds for us depends upon what we are ready to accept.” If the threshold is an inner decision before an outer movement, then that inner decision must include an acceptance of the greatness of our lives—the precious gift we have been given to live in form at this time. When so much hangs in that liminal space and has not been decided yet, we are being given the opportunity—right now—to decide something new and powerful.

The art of alchemy reminds us that the greatest gift of crossing the threshold and beginning anew may not be what we find through our decision, butwho we become along the way. Are you willing to take the first step? The threshold calls for movement, a step, a decision to trust and have faith. For me, that time is now. I trust the liminal space. I trust the universe to catch me, and I trust the journey of becoming on the path of my decision.

Standing at the Threshold with Love,

Rev. Dr. Rita Andriello-Feren

Author, Founding Spiritual Director CSL Kaua’i, Founder of the Red Dress Movement, Co-Host of the From Woo Woo to Wow Wow! Podcast, www.cslkauai.org | The Red Dress on Facebook, Certified Veriditas Labyrinth Facilitator with over 15 years experience facilitating labyrinth walks.

Rev. Dr. Rita Andriello-Feren – Transformational storytelling that blends mysticism, New Thought, and emotional authenticity.