A strategically inserted space can vastly change the structure and meaning of a word.
The title of this post is a good example. The letters: n, o, w, h, e, r, e when put together in this order form the single word nowhere, meaning not anywhere.
Let’s consider this structure: n, o, w, (space), h, e, r, e. By adding a space in the middle of the same succession of letters, a phrase is formed: now here, meaning immediately in this place.
From a different perspective, Lost vs Found.
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What is music? Isn’t it just sound interrupted by brief periods of space? It’s the space between the notes that makes music pleasurable. Otherwise, we hear a constant and unpleasant drone of noise.
My intent is not to give a grammar or musical lesson; it’s to inspire contemplation on the necessity and importance of space in our daily lives.
Let’s face it. If we aren’t careful, and if we don’t include spaces in our routines, we become victims in a lost, noisy, and usually painful world.
The side effects of television, social media, filling our schedules with commitments, always saying, “yes,” being stuck at home in a pandemic, and a thousand other distractions lead us to NOWHERE. And for some, me included, the end result is that we become broken.
Here’s an incomplete list of symptoms to be being broken: Depression, anxiety, anger, loss of hope, self-loathing, alcoholism, drug abuse, failed marriages, physical & emotional abuse to others, accidents, and injuries, etc.
I recently decided to insert spaces into various areas of my life; I am currently under the care of a licensed therapist. She helps me understand the importance of pauses from my external life and my internal demons. Inserting sessions with her into a weekly routine is turning a noisy environment into music. I’m learning to like and appreciate a new genre – myself.
Space(s) are void of anything, yet they are necessary to make things work. Consider a flower pot. Without the empty space it would simply be a hardened lump of clay. It’s the “nothingness” that gives us a place to add potting soil, fertilizer, and water for an ornamental flower or a tomato plant. The space gives it value!
Space in my emotional life, space from my work and colleagues, and space away from social media are changing my perspective. They are giving me a newly found appreciation: for me.
I used to be nowhere, but I am nearing a destination where I can and will proclaim, “I am now here!” I still have a long way to travel, but along the way I will surely take time and space to rest and recover.
I will value the empty space in my life. I hope you can motivate yourself to do the same.
Be Kind. Be Thankful. Be Significant.
Peter
