"To open is to unveil, to unlock, to unclench, to invite. To create passage, to begin. Openness means generosity and truthfulness and clarity and spaciousness and fearless receptiveness and a willingness to be moved.
"An open door invites me to enter, signals my release, tells me I am free to come and go. An open vista lets me see clearly into the distance, and it tantalizes me with possibility. Open water offers a sailor the liberty to choose a course unconstrained by land or shoal, an infinite choice of destination — and the sobering recognition of dependence upon wind, water, and current. A gift, upon being opened, reveals not only the nature of the item previously hidden, but also the thoughtfulness of and the blessing conferred by the giver.
"An open jar of olives is the beginning of a feast; an open bottle of wine, the start of celebration. The sight, the sound, the smell, the taste, the touch. The opening bars of a song, or the opening paragraphs of a book, are the commencement of a shared creative journey.
"An open face is honest, humble — the expression of a person secure in oneself and desirous of finding the good in others. An open heart is warm and tender, ready for friendship. An open mind is generous, engaging, respectful of others, eager to grow and learn. Open arms offer welcome and comfort. An open spirit receives and perceives without condemnation.
"An open society is one that values transparency over secrets. It chooses the vulnerability of welcoming the stranger over the security of exclusivity. It celebrates the richness of diversity over the comfort of homogeneity. It embraces new or different perspectives rather than defending tired dogmas. It does not rush to judgment.
"Openness requires courage. By its nature it diminishes certainty and requires faith; it dismantles the mighty fortresses of ego and privilege, leaving one armed instead with the flimsy weapons of hope and love. Openness takes captive one's own private agenda, binding it to the needs and dreams of others.
"The one who is truly open desires to be known, unveiled, right down to every blemish, each unrecognized strength.
"The one who is truly open desires also to know, even if the knowing destroys cherished illusions. This is good, but it may also be terrifying.
" 'It is a fearful thing,' said the writer of the letter to the Hebrews, 'to fall into the hands of the living God' (10:31 KJV).
"Fearful, yes. But where safer? And where in this universe could one find greater excitement, deeper fulfillment, more enduring peace, a richer joy? This is why God seeks to cleave me, pierce me 'to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart' (Heb. 4:12 ESV). Not to harm, but to heal. To open a path.
"God is the Great Openness. Surely Jesus is the evidence of this: the Omnipotent becomes powerless; the Omnipresent binds himself to a point in time, a geographical and cultural place, a specific person within the narrow confines of history; the Omniscient bends every aspect of that infinite genius to the purpose of being known. Every created thing is a revelation, and 'no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account' (Heb. 4:13 ESV).
"If, then, openness is a path inward to the very core of my own being, the path leads also outward from that core to the heart of God.
"I want to be free, but not without direction. I want to be humble, but not insecure. I want to be vulnerable and fearless. I desire simplicity, but the kind that is profound rather than naive. I want to know God, and myself, and others.
"I want to be open. But such openness is not easy."
