Corridors in life

A corridor is a passage with both ends widely open.  The passage itself is  narrow.

I am passing through such a corridor in my life, after my illness and surgery. What do we do when we feel confined to a passage! Let me suggest three experiences which are making sense in my life.

A corridor is a limited and empty space unoccupied often. It is symbol of solitude. We live hurriedly in the theatre of activities and the rhythm of life is decided by the daily routine and events. Not many of us can stop or take a detour as we are controlled by job requirements, commitments, responsibilities, etc. When we feel located in a corridor, it is good to begin on an inner journey of discovery and learning. I discovered that I used to feel tired for over six months but I did not pause or reflect, till I was forced to do so. This present solitude helps me to get in touch with my patterns, practices and preferred ways. When we learn about our lives we can revise the way we want to live.

A corridor is a symbol of a journey ahead. It sets the direction, but not the pace. A passage is not a permanent place for anyone to stay for long. Since I started on my regulated and incremental exercise walk, I know that I am on my way to the earlier pace of activities. A four year old child told me yesterday, 'uncle will you be able to walk slowly like this always so that I can walk and talk with you'! That is a choice I need to make. Will I let activities overtake me or make time to focus on life-giving experiences of building relationships, listening to others, creating family times, pursuing hobbies and leisure time activities, etc. The corridor time is a preparation time for change!

A corridor is a space outside an office, house, class room, etc. It is space that acts as a buffer between rooms where activities are intense. It is therefore a space to which we can escape, when the activities make us feel tired, preoccupied or stressed. A corridor space is a symbol of an in-between space of pause and reflection, all of us would need, amidst our schedule of activities. The week ends used to be a 'corridor space for our soul', but it has also got fully occupied with the unfinished work of the week. We need to habitually walk away from our activity driven pace to the corridor space for respite and recovery.

Anna and I regularly created a 'corridor space' on Tuesday afternoons during our years at CMC Vellore. We lost the habit when we left Vellore. Now we are rediscovering it!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)