A House of Mysteries

I had heard of a House of Mysteries that could help one on the life's journey. An mysterious adventure for everyone.

I asked my friend to show me the way to the house. He was the one who had talked about it sometimes but had never actually gone inside. He had been on the doorstep once - so he knew which house it was - but he hesitated and went home.

I would not going to do the same. If I decided to go, I would go.

So there I was with my heart beating as if someone was fiercely drumming it. My friend took my hand, and we walked for a while. Then he showed me a big round house. But it was a building near my neighborhood! I had always thought it was just one of those buildings left to decay because no one cared for it anymore.

"It just looks like way," my companion said. "It is still A House of Mysteries."

"Thank you for showing me the way," I said.

"I wish I could follow you some day," he said.

"Come right now!" I encouraged him, but he shook his head and turned back.

I looked at the house. It was a gray, one-story building with no windows. I had walked past it before, but I had never given it much thought.

The door opened as soon as I was in front of it. I stepped inside, and a warm feeling greeted me. Soft lights surrounded me. The walls were made of wood.

"Nice to see you here," a woman's pleasant voice reached my ears. I turned around to see a blonde woman in a long blue dress standing there.

"I want to understand life better," I told her and she nodded.

"That's why people come here. This is a one-way building. You will start at this first door and continue until you come out of the last room. You should learn something in each room so do not rush too much, but do not stay too long either. I am sure this will be an interesting journey for you, and I am so happy to see you here. Remember to honor the light in every soul even if you cannot see it - and in yourself as well."

I looked into her bright eyes and felt confident. She opened the door, and I was as eager to start as a runner in a race.

The room was full of couches and people chatting with each other. I approached them, and then I saw my former classmates. I began to listen to them. They were judging a teacher who had once been my teacher, too. I knew that he was an honest man although he was rather demanding. I did not like their harsh words, and decided to leave. But then they noticed me.

"Hey, you. I know you. You were in our class. We were just talking about our former math teacher. Do you remember him? What a terrible person he is!"

I thought for a moment. Did I want to join in the criticism? No, that would not honor the light in another person not would not help him either.

"He is an honest man, and he put in a lot of effort into teaching us math," I said, feeling the power of my truthful words.

When I saw the next door I walked calmly towards it. When I opened it, screaming and crying filled my ears. I wanted to slam the door shut, but this was a one-way building. So I took a deep breath and stepped inside, closing the door behind me. There were people arguing and yelling at each other.

These people seemed so disgusting to me. To honor the light in them? Did they even have any light? Maybe it was hidden. I started to think about the light. Yes, I could feel the light in my being, and I loved the light. It was something I was truly made of.

And they, too, were made of light. I poured out my love upon them, and one by one they stopped fighting. They looked at each other in amazement. And before they could notice me, I ran to the next door, opened it, and stepped into the darkness.

It was as if I had lost my sight. A night without moon or stars. What was in front of me? How would I find my way to the next door? I could not move. Maybe I had opened the wrong door!

To honor the light within - within me, too. Maybe my own light could light my way. My own light... I could master fear with light! And there was light in my chest. It grew little by little, and eventually, the glow let me see enough to find my way to the next door.

When I opened the door, light flooded the room, and I saw that it was empty. I had feared emptiness!

"Hello, my dear," said a man in the next room. "Welcome. You look like just the right person to enter our beautiful place. The best people stay here, and you seem to be like one of us," he whispered the last words.

"But I am will not stay. I will go on to the next room," I said. I just did not like the smell of his words.

"What next room? This is everything. Everything you need is here. You can sit in one of those golden chairs and be one of us--the better people."

But I was just one of the ordinary people, trying to find my way through life, loving more each day, suffering more as I understood why, forgiving all as there was no other way, finding my way to the eternal home.

I wanted to be in control of my own life. So I just left those "better people" and looked for the next door. There it was, almost invisible because it was the same color as the walls.

The next room was empty except for a small high table and a piece of cake there. Since there was nothing else in the room, I sneaked a peek. It was filled with cream and strawberries. I loved strawberries, but I was not allowed to eat cream because milk made my stomach sick. Should I obey to my body's request to eat only the kind of food that did not make me sick, or should I just enjoy the cake? I remembered the last time I had disobeyed, and it had caused me so much pain.

I sighed, passed the cake, and looked for the next door. I opened it, and to my surprise, I entered a small movie theater. There was only one chair, though. But the screen was big, and I sat down in the chair.

The movie started. It was about me as a child. I was the fourth child in our family, and I got many things from my brothers and sisters including my first bicycle. I was so happy to learn how to ride a bike. But my friend lived near me, and one day I saw her newly bought bicycle. She was the firstborn and got her things new. I looked at my bike with slumped shoulders and tears in my eyes. My father asked me what was wrong with me.

"My bike isn't new," I whispered.

"But it is a good bike. It has had many adventures, and maybe it has stories to tell you," my father comforted me with his fatherly wisdom.

I thought about his words, and soon my bike was soon the best in the world in my mind. It was a secret superbike. It had been on adventures, and it was taking me to new adventures. And my friend would never know all the stories I imagined, but we were good friends and we rode together a lot.

It is just how we look at things, I thought as I got out of the chair, tears streaming from my eyes.

When I entered the next room, I was surprised. It was more like a hallway. There were many doors in front of me. They all looked different. It was not only the color--black, white, green, blue, pink, and some with many colors--but they were also different sizes and materials, and there were different kinds of ornaments on them.

I was not alone as I had been in the previous two rooms. People were thinking about which door to choose. I saw a woman in tears.

"Why are you so desperate?" I asked.

"I have heard that if you choose the wrong door it could lead you back to the first room where you began your journey or even out. I just can't choose. How could I know the right door?" she said, squirming.

I did not want to end up like that. I centered in the harmony of my heart, and then I chose the doors that I liked the most--the green, the yellow, and the pink. Then I decided to look at them more closely, and I pondered in my heart, which door would be right for me. It was the yellow door that just seemed to be calling me, and I opened it.

I entered a room full of people eating here and there. And now there was suitable food for me, too. Since my stomach was growling like a bear, I decided to eat, and I enjoyed a delicious meal there.

The people seemed to be happy and chatting with each other, except for some who were near the next door. I wanted to know why they were walking back and forth and seemed to be thinking hard and why they were not eating.

"I already ate a long time ago. I just can't get out of this room. You have to say the right word to the guard next door--the secret word. And if you don't know it, you can't get out. I've tried it five times," said one man.

"And you can't hear what the others are saying," added a woman.

I thought about it for a while. What word should I try? It was a nice place, and I was grateful to have eaten well. So when it was my turn, I said to the guard: "Thank you." And he opened the door and I went into the next room. I was amazed that I had succeeded on the first try.

"Glad you came. We need more cleaners. Take this and mop the floor," a man said, handing me a mop.

I was not expecting this. But I took the mop and started cleaning. There was also a man and a woman. They were cleaning the stairs which had only three steps. I heard them talking.

"This is unfair. Why do we have to do this kind of work when these others can go right up there. They work on computers. Why do I have to clean these stairs?" the man said.

"I don't like it either," said the woman, just sitting on the stairs.

I liked working on computers. I could see the others working on them. But I thought there must be a reason, some kind of justice, why I had to clean this place right now. Images of me leaving the house when my mother had asked me to clean the floors flashed through my mind. I decided to do my job carefully this time. So I continued swabbing. As I approached the next door, it opened by itself, and I decided to go forward.

I was alone. There was a sign in the air.

"This is a reality test. Touch with three fingers the signs you think are real, and touch with your thumb the signs you think are unreal," it said.

As I had read the sign, it disappeared. Then many signs appeared, and they were floating in the air. I approached one of them and read:

"You are a stupid person."

This was not true although I had said it several times. I touched the sign with my thumb, and it disappeared. Then I went to the next one.

"You are much better than most people on earth."

How could I say that? I did not know whether others were better than me or not. Should we even think about such things? We are all human beings on the same journey to the Light. So I touched the sign with my thumb, and it disappeared.

"Your soul was born in light and love."

That's nice, I thought and touched the sign with three fingers, and it stayed in the air.

"Life has no purpose. Just enjoy yourself."

No. Life certainly has a purpose--to grow and to shine and to help others along the way, if nothing else. When I touched it with my thumb, the sign disappeared.

"By helping others you help yourself."

That's pretty mysterious, but it sounded right and I touched it with three fingers and it stayed in the air.

"Freedom is also a responsibility."

I thought about that for a while. If you are free to do whatever you want, you must also be responsible for your actions.

That was the last sign for me, and it stayed in the air as I entered the next room.

It looked very cozy with cushions and dim lights and soft music. A man dressed in expensive clothes approached me.

"Come, join us. We are the kings and queens here, the superstars, the heroes, the ones others worship. Here you can just focus on yourself."

There really seemed to be all these heroes and kings and superstars. They were dressed in wonderful costumes and they seemed to be enjoying their stay. But it was not for me. I did not want to be worshipped. I was just me. And I could see with my inner vision that they were also like me, hungry souls thirsting for eternal life, but they had forgotten it and covered themselves with the masks of the superstars.

Finally, I entered the last room. There was only a large key on the small round table there.

I took the key and looked at it. It was transparent and filled with glitter that moved when I shook it. I wondered if it was for the door through which I had just entered, since it was close to it.

But why lock that door? I did not want to prevent anyone from going forward. Not even those I did not like. That was not for me to decide on that.

I looked around, and I noticed another door. I went to see if it would open, but it was locked. So I tried the key and unlocked the door.

I stepped out of the house and I breathed deeply in the fresh air. I did not see the beautiful woman I had met when I had entered the house. Instead, a man with a mustache and brown hair and pearls on it was standing on the stairs.

"Congratulations on your victory!"

"Thank you."

"How do you see this building now?" he asked me.

I looked behind me and I saw a magnificent palace, a magnificent palace of light.

There was a new joy in my heart as I walked home.

Copyright Eija Paatero