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.

IIf a threshold is the space between what was and what will be, then standing there requires a decision. I cannot remain on the threshold forever. To do so would be to choose nothing at all—to pause without intention, suspended between lives.

Crossing into something new always carries uncertainty. Beyond the threshold is the unknown—not because we lack direction, but because we cannot yet see how the journey will unfold or who we will become along the way.

For me, it comes down to feeling. What is pulling me across the threshold? Is it escape? A vision I say I want? Or something deeper that I have not yet fully named? Do I truly know what I am choosing?

The threshold is a liminal space—neither past nor future, but rich with possibility. From a quantum perspective, it is a state of superposition, where many outcomes exist but none have yet collapsed into form. Nothing has been decided. Nothing has been observed. This is the moment when consciousness chooses how possibility will take shape. Intention matters here. Identity shifts here. This is where awareness becomes creation.

I believe it is possible to stand at the threshold too long, waiting for clarity to arrive before deciding. When we do that, we quietly hand our power over to chance—the “Law of Averages.” We tell the Universe, “I’ll just see what happens.” But when we do not choose, the choice is often made for us, and not always in ways we desire. Our word and our will are powerful. The Universe is always listening.

I can see moments in my own life when I lingered at the threshold, convincing myself I was being careful or practical. I thought I was weighing options, waiting for permission, hoping for proof. In hindsight, those decisions often had to be undone later—after struggle and turmoil.

And then there were other moments. Times when I stood at the threshold, felt the pull, and stepped forward anyway—without proof, without certainty, but with a deep inner knowing. Those were the moments that brought the greatest gifts of my life.

I also remember crossing thresholds to escape something painful. In those cases, I eventually found myself standing at another threshold facing the same pattern, simply wearing a different disguise. As the saying goes, “Wherever you go, there you are.” If the threshold is a place where intention matters, then what I carry across it must be what I am moving toward, not what I am running from.

Ernest Holmes wrote, “We stand at the beginning of a new era, not because time has changed, but because we have.” I know that I have changed. A new era is calling me forward. I am not who I was thirteen years ago when we chose to come to Kaua‘i and start the Center for Spiritual Living. As I stand at the threshold of the next chapter of my life, I know that clarity, intention, and decisiveness are required. I need enough conviction to shape the unknown into my chosen creation.

As December 31, 2025 approaches, I sense that this threshold is not only personal—it is collective. This feels like an unusually important crossing for all of us. Entering 2026 asks for more than hope. It asks for vision. We can no longer wait for someone else to tell us what is right, what is possible, or what comes next. We must decide.

As Holmes reminded us, “We cannot live a choiceless life.” Our power of volition matters—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 only for yourself, but for those who will come after us? Recently, I watched children simply being themselves—held by loving adults—and I felt a deep responsibility to make conscious choices that help create a better world for them.

Holmes also 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 decision must include accepting the greatness of our own lives—the rare and precious gift of being here at this moment in time.

Alchemy teaches that the true gift of crossing a threshold may not be what we gain, but who we become. The threshold calls for movement—for trust, faith, and the courage to take the first step.

For me, that moment is now. I trust the liminal space. I trust the Universe to meet me there. And I trust the journey of becoming that unfolds when I choose.

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.