Empty Space

Empty space matters.

I forget this sometimes.

Like earlier today, for example, when I was spinning my wheels.

I felt anxious + ungrounded. I felt like I wasn’t *doing* enough.

Because I was buying into the lie that my action + effort + emotional activation are the only ways anything ever happens. So I have to fill every empty space with action to get what I want.

But I’ve been through this enough to know that this sort of anxiety is my cue to do less.

To exhale.

To wait.

To sit in the space of not knowing what’s next.

To remember that process + creation + magic need empty space to do their work.

To trust the in-between emptiness of not-doing (as a nonnegotiable companion to doing).

One of the beautiful things about being an organic + alive creature on an organic + alive planet is that we’re connected to forces of nature that make things happen with no effort on our part.

Our bodies grow + heal on their own.

The seasons change.

Life happens.

Creation continues, unstoppable.

So we plant the seeds + then leave them alone.

We bandage our wounds + let our bodies handle the rest.

We go to bed + trust we’ll feel better in the morning.

Because it’s not all up to us.

Life + creativity + progress + magic have a call + response dynamic.

We throw something out into the world + then we let the world respond.

We do a thing + then we trust the empty space to hold it.

We remember that we’re in charge of some things, sure, but definitely not everything.

Because for better or worse, we're part of a larger web of organic process + magic + death + rebirth + transformation + aliveness that sometimes just takes us along for the ride.

And allowing empty space is part of how we participate in this mystery.

So what might it mean to trust the empty spaces in your own life + self, and maybe even invite + cultivate that emptiness in your life + work + creativity?