Standing at the Threshold

Feature story from December newsletter 2025

Someone once told me where the word threshold comes from.I had always imagined something dramatic - perhaps involving Thresher sharks and holding danger at bay - but apparently not!

Would you believe it comes from people long ago making their doorsteps out of crops that had been “threshed” -straw, hay, corn- which tended to spill out? Someone eventually placed a plank of wood across the entry to hold the threshed material in.

Behold: the thresh-hold.

It later became customary for men to carry their brides across this threshold - partly to keep straw from catching in the wedding dress, partly to prevent tripping (very bad luck), and partly to keep evil spirits from entering through the soles of her feet (even worse luck).

Over time, the word evolved into what we now use metaphorically:a doorway between worlds.

A threshold is the sacred line between the known and the unknown. Safety and risk. Familiar and unfamiliar. The new beginning and the old ending. A moment when the only way is onwards.

Last week, I witnessed our wonderful new Connection Culture Holistic Psychotherapy graduates step over a profound threshold - from student to therapist.

Soon, we’ll be introducing them in the Clinic space, and it felt like a privilege to honour that moment.

When I got home, life spoke in symbols.I found a long, perfect red-bellied black snakeskin. Then, over the next few days, several smaller ones - likely Golden Crown snakes. I immediately thought of the Year of the Snake coming to an end, leaving its skin behind.

I’ve been studying these skins.

They’re not just discarded outer layers making room for growth. They are full of bits of life - tiny ticks, insects, even a small pebble embedded in the old skin. The snake literally leaves them behind.

Imagine carrying a tick for a year… and the deep relief of being finally free.In my opinion, that alone is worth leaning into the unknown for.

These skins hold stories.Not simply “letting go of what no longer serves,” but something deeper:

memory you can hold,

wisdom shaped by earth, movement and time,

not thrown away but returned…like a nostalgic photograph of the past - a treasure.

Perhaps shedding is not an act of dismissal but one of cleaning,

of preparation,

of quiet sacrifice.

A statement that says:

This is my offering to the present.

As we stand at the threshold of this year, I find myself wondering - and inviting you to wonder:

What is my sacred offering?

In this frame, I can even love the challenges I’ve moved through,

the people I’ve struggled with,

the versions of myself I’ve found hard to accept.

And trust that: I don’t need them anymore.

Growth has pushed forward.

And here we are - standing at the threshold.

Soft in our new skin.Alive with curiosity and fear.

Eyes bright, shining toward the light, the space, and the shadow of all the yet-unexplored places ahead.

And yes - maybe a little tired after crossing the threshold and shedding all that old weight.

If You’re Reflecting on Your Own Threshold…

If you feel called to explore the threshold you’re crossing- to honour what you’re shedding, what you’re keeping, and who you’re becoming- our therapists would love to walk beside you.

Book a session in this month’s Clinic.We look forward to greeting you as you step into who you are, again.

Our Community Clinic will be open December 15 - 19. Bookings are open now.

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About the Writer

Michelle McCosker is a vibrant and creative person, certified in both Holistic Psychotherapy and Art Therapy. Her life experiences and playful approach provide profound wisdom in her work. She gently guides her clients through old wounds at their own pace, utilising the resources already within their own inner landscape, offering compassion and clarity, helping them access their innate wisdom and self-acceptance. She calls this 'healing from the inside'.

Michelle also offers 1:1 online Holistic Psychotherapy and Art Therapy Sessions (online and in-person) outside of clinic hours.

Michelle is currently a Community Steward for the Connection Culture Community which includes care-taking the Clinic, Mentoring Students and offering focussed study sessions 'Empowered Practice' to Holistic Psychotherapy students studying Lee Trew's model.

Read more about her here.