Have you ever noticed how hard it is to create or hold space? Like saving a seat for someone in a crowded event, you really have to be on guard, because people will come and try to fill that space. You’ve probably heard that “nature abhors a vacuum”, and human nature does too – whenever there is space, we like to fill it. A space clears in your calendar, you fill it with something.
You’ve probably also realized that “no two things can occupy the same space at the same time”, so if you want a new wardrobe, but your closet is packed with old stuff you no longer love, you won’t have any place to put your new glad rags until you jettison the old. There’s no room for new furniture either, until you move old the old.
Spring renewal calls us to be intentional about our use of space. It starts within, when we create space for a new thought by clearing out the old, limiting beliefs, and cut the cords to old intentions that are no longer viable. And then we make the conscious choice to hold that space open for something new, and to be willing to say “no” to mere fillers, in order to save the space for something wonderful.
Then we can look around to select where to begin taking that action in life, even if it’s symbolic. So we can clear space by donating items to Goodwill or Salvation Army, but we can also just dust, mop the floor or wash a window. If we try to jump into a huge overhaul if we’re not quite ready for it, we may find ourselves creating chaos rather than peace. Sometimes, outside forces push us to make such changes, so let’s be gentle with ourselves, and know that if chaos appears, there is order is in the process of emerging from it. So let’s occupy our space intentionally. Let’s occupy life!
News Muse segment from the April 22, 2018 episode of the Totally Positive News show