I started this week with one of those undeniable urges to clear out my office space.
As a creative person, I always have a lot of projects on-the-go. I’ve long ago accepted about myself that I work best with my in-process projects stacked all around me, where I can see them, so that I can just pick them up and work on them when inspiration strikes. It maintains a feeling of connection and momentum with them for me.
But there is always a limit. One day I wake up and I just cannot stand those stacks for one more minute.
Then I have to stop everything and clear my space, and then re-organize it.
This is what happened this week in my pilgrimage.
I could not believe the breathing room I had when I was done.
Then I noticed that it wasn’t really about outer clearing at all. Well, it was a little bit…..
Even more, it was about a craving for inner spaciousness.
“Presence is an inner state of spaciousness.”
Eckhart Tolle
I am always stunned at how precisely our inner world is mirrored in our outer world, and vice versa.
So this week, I have respected my need for more inner spaciousness, and I have given myself more meditation time where I can just sit and experience emptiness.
I don’t know what this space is for, or why I needed it so much right now, but I trust these strong inner signals, and I try to be present to them and honor them.
What is the spaciousness that you need?
This is really such a great question, a great reminder.
I’ve been finding recently that meditating for an hour midday, or just after lunch, is a tremendous energizer. It might sounds like a way of cutting out a whole hour from a busy schedule, maybe even wasting time, but instead it seems to be an efficiency.
My early mornings are fully scheduled for 3 hours or more, dedicated to discovering what I am thinking and feeling, what to write about, then actually writing it, before studying Spanish and taking a 3 – 5 mile walk. Trying to add in a lengthy time of meditation just doesn’t seem to work.
By meditating midday, I get a fresh start to the day. By meditating for a full hour – just being still – I am re-energized for creative work during the rest of the day. It seems better than taking a nap. It’s a clarified re-start to the day.