#doorsoftumblr

[theholisticpursuit]

We are about to pack up our family of 4 on another adventure. The emotions are mixed, but we have seen the faithfulness and grace of God in the midst of it all. The photo is of a door from my trip to Morocco. You never know whats behind a door until you go in and explore. What kind of adventure and discoveries await? We can only find out if we open the door. ;) shalom friends! (at Asilah - مدينة اصيلة)

[doortales]

Door 4 - 30.07.2017 

In my first home, the garden was beautiful and green with so many different hiding places amongst the trees or behind the bushes. At the time, I had no care for the effort made towards the work behind the creation of a perfect garden, but I was lucky that the little haven that was ours replicated a Secret Garden that you can escape to.  

There are many fairy tales and stories that are based at the bottom of the garden, as it is the most secretive place you can find. From when we play there as a child, to when we’re trimming the bushes at an older age, there is something we find in our gardens that bring us peace and tranquility and it is our daily chance to be as close to nature as possible. Working in the big smoke all day can be draining, but there is a dream to come home to your kitchen for a tea, and roam around the garden checking on the crinodendron and the monkey puzzle tree where the parakeets are perched. You can see that I haven’t planned this at all. 

The most important embellishment is the entrance to your garden, or to the little part of the garden that feels separate to the rest. A great example I came across was this entrance made from the stem of the tree and its surrounding branches, neighboured by so much greenery that the owner had taken time and effort to create. This is the entrance to their sanctuary and it helps that this was found on the coastline in Luss, Scotland. The town is idyllic and ideal for the person that wants to live a solitary life, whilst listening to the sea crash against the rocks.

Gardens are nurtured with your imagination and green fingers with the intent to create our own haven of nature, and no matter how large or small your space is, it is your personal space that you work hard to produce and care for just to watch grow. 

[doortales]

Door 3 - 16.07.2017

Glasgow University is the fourth oldest university in the English speaking world since it was founded in 1451. Wandering around the large stoned pavings, you begin to notice that there is rarely a flat piece of wall around this entire building. The crevices, and gargoyles attached to each buttress, in their warm light red tone colouring gives off more of a warming and comforting feeling to be inside the quadrangles. 

This door I found whilst wandering around the East Quadrangle of the Main Building, staring up at the pointed pinnacles surrounding each corner. The building was so gothic, it was impossible not to remember the stories my Nanna once told me about The Grey Lady. 

When students are shown around their new home for the next three years or more, they are told the story of the Grey Lady. Porters and staff will tell you she walks the Cloisters of the Gilbert Scott Building and also the Lion and the Unicorn Staircase. Security have said she secures the building from 11pm to 5am, as they have seen her mistaking her for a lost student out at night.

The door is situated in-between the said path for the Grey Lady, and my mind imminently swept to the thought of how many times she may passed this door. Although it was locked, there could be a number of things behind here, a secret stairwell up to a door, a trapdoor down into somethings further, or just a place for the porters to put their coats. Stepping inside the grounds of Glasgow University leads your imagination to believe this door could be so much more, and I don’t doubt that the Grey Lady has seen it many times before. 

[doortales]

Door 2 - 02.07.2017

A story that captured the hearts of many millennials, and will continue to do so as they read it on to their children. The magical life of Harry Potter acted as an escape from the world of reality, into a more comforting and dreamy place. The cushiony red chairs in front of the fire, the flame lit hallways through a warm stone castle, the fairies in the bushes lighting up the path outside and Honeydukes, the magic sweet shop centred in the quaint village of Hogsmeade. These are but few of the qualities of the story that could brighten a child’s imagination. Visiting the set behind the story and the movies was like entering a playground for the mind after following the books from 1 to 7, and this was the door to the house where it all started for our protagonist. The house in Godric’s Hollow, where Harry Potter returned on Christmas Eve to visit the site where he lost his family and the infamous scar took place. I would encourage anyone who followed the stories to visit the studio tour, and also to continue reading the books to yourselves, or to the next generation. Let the magic live on.