The Key Is in Your Hand

 Dear Reader,

Jiddu Krishnamurti once wrote: “In oneself lies the whole world… the key is in your hand. Nobody on earth can give you either the key or the door to open, except yourself.”

In recovery, this resonates deeply. Step 11 reminds me to seek God through prayer and meditation, but no sponsor, no meeting, no book can force that experience upon me. Others can guide me, but ultimately the turning of the key is mine. I must choose to open the door.

Krishnamurti also said: “Truth is a pathless land. Man cannot come to it through any organization, creed, dogma, or ritual.” That doesn’t mean rituals or fellowship have no value; it means they cannot replace the inner work. Recovery isn’t about appearances or forms — it’s about the daily intention to live honestly, humbly, and awake. As he reminded us: “To transform the world, we must begin with ourselves; and what is important in beginning with ourselves is the intention.”

Too often, I have found myself with the key in hand but unwilling to open the right door. There have been times when I chose my own will — going to a social event for my own enjoyment — instead of serving at a shelter or doing something that might reflect Christ’s love more fully. In those moments, I wasn’t punished, but I was left with a sense of emptiness. I saw clearly the difference between following my will and seeking God’s.

Prayer without sincerity is empty; meditation without awareness is just daydreaming. Gandhi expressed it well: “It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.” And C.S. Lewis observed: “Prayer doesn’t change God; it changes me.” These echo the same truth: the change begins within.

When I open that door, even in the “middle of winter,” I discover what Pablo Neruda called “an invincible summer” inside me. And from that place of quiet freedom, I find the strength to love, to serve, and to walk one more day in recovery.

The key is in my hand. The door is before me. Each day, I choose whether to open it. I invite you all to join me and follow Krishnamurti's lead. Amen.