Photo by Jan Tinneberg on Unsplash

Open. I really like this word. It is probably my favorite. It holds within its four letters an invitation, a call, a welcome. Words that mean the same tend to be overt antitheses of its opposite; unlocked, unbolted, unlatched, not closed, unfastened. If we are talking about doors and gates, these states of being are reassuring and logically straightforward. But if we are talking about ideas and experiences, leaving the mind’s gate ajar becomes an important mental construct. It is only when we are open enough…