The Spaces in Our Lives

I was teaching a violin lesson last week and was trying to explain to my student that the space between the notes was vital to how the music sounded and the overall style of the piece. So often we focus on the notes themselves and ignore the space between the notes. I'm not talking about rests - when you completely stop playing and wait until the next note. Those are also important and vital in a different way. It all works together to create an enjoyable song or piece. We need space to create a certain effect and we need rests to breathe (quite literally if you are singing or playing an instrument that requires lung capacity!)

Another analogy that comes to mind is the phrase "life is like a marathon". I know what this phrase is getting at, but maybe life is more like a series of sprints and we need time to rest between the bursts of energy.

What I'm getting at is this...space in our lives is important for many reasons. It gives us time to rest and rebuild. It gives us time to breathe. It gives us a certain rhythm.

Earlier this week our family went for a hike. I had my camera along and quickly discovered something I wanted to photograph. The rest of my family didn't quite feel the same way about the mushroom and continued hiking. I loved taking time to stop and notice the details, but then I felt rushed to try to catch up with my family. That's when the hike stopped being fun for me.

I know we aren't all created equally (I've been slightly obsessed with studying personality types and innate personal nature), but I do believe we all need to make a little more space in our lives. This might look like observing the Sabbath more intentionally or practicing a daily quiet time. Maybe it means creating physical space by clearing off surfaces or decluttering our closets.

When looking at an overall picture, keep in mind there are little details that make this overall picture possible.