Doors have always been of great intrigue to me! Who knows where it began, but perhaps it was the big ol' door in the living room of the farm I grew up on. Many a night, in the sweltering heat of a summer night, my brothers and I would drag an old mattress down to lay on the floor in front of that door, then we'd catch some zzzz's with what little breeze would find it's way through that front door! (Things were far from fancy when I was a kid and air conditioning was only something that the local cafe in town had!) Not only do doors represent that barrier of air exchange from each side, but the coming in and going out of those who trod this earth for the years given to us. As a metaphor for the opportunity of new beginnings, 'doors' have been the example for many a soul, not the least of which includes me. I closed a door and opened a new one four days ago when I said goodbye to my car(sold in one day!), hello to 'Mr. P' (my RV) and hello to the open road! The new visions of each of the past 4 days have infused me with new life. My recent discovery: the varied landscapes of three states. I have coined a new phrase today... 'Hello rainbow earth'! I have been amazed at the colors of earth's soil! I really noticed this as I floated onto a new stretch of highway on the yonder side of the Black Hills where the road became as red as a red velvet cake-pop at Starbucks! One look at the hillside told me why.... the surrounding red earth was the mixing medium with the concrete. The yellow stripe on the roadside and the white colored shoulder made for a colorful drive into Wyoming. The blued out sagebrush along with the broad brushstroke of yellow mustard weed (at least that's what it looked like from the days as a kid when I use to chop that stuff out of the soybean fields of my youth) that flooded the roadsides made for a colorful morning. Backing out of the rather small door of my RV without hitting my head, (a major accomplishment) as I headed into the first Starbuck's I've found since closing the door of my work-a-day Midwest life, made me realize that whether doors are big or small, ornate or plain, colored or natural wood, the going out and coming in we all experience is an opportunity for renewed passion in our lives and purpose in our days. Sometimes purpose looks outward, sometimes inward... both are necessary for the balance God wishes us to aspire to! (I am) wishing for all of you blogger-readers, a colorful day! The day's word for your contemplation: BALANCE Into the Wind, ...nature girl....