For me ~ this poem describes an attitude of meeting whatever we find . . . at the door of our life or coming into our awareness, you could say, without judgement and instead ~ with kindness.
It has been used in Afghanistan in a 'community wellness ' project to teach Focusing and help the local community to support itself and cope with the effects of living in a warzone.
We could read this poem and see ourselves like the host of a party, welcoming everything that comes to the door of our lives. However . . . if we can put ourselves in the picture and imagine that, instead, we are the house itself, then our perspective may shift in a helpful way that alows us to have a wee ' gap ' ~ from immediately and perhaps habitually identifying with any ' guest '.
In the context of this poem ~ the house here can be seen as our mind, heart or consciousness.
This is not about dissociating from our experience. It becomes most helpful if we need to discern between elements such as inappropriate fear, anxiety or anger that may be constricting our life.
There is an attitude here that can help us to ' Clear a Space ' from everything for a few moments.
We have more chance of finding the right distance inside . . . . . for us to meet whatever comes our way and gently let go, of whatever we sense inside that is asking to pass through our house.
For more details about this project in Afghanistan please click here to download a Pdf file.