The spaces in-between
I recently spent five days in Ibiza doing very little - I read, wandered to the town, came back and read some more. Swam and did yoga. The days seemed full, but with rest and nourishment instead of busyness.
Coming back from a peaceful holiday is jarring, but it also made me look at my normal days differently. Apparently life’s not supposed to be reading novels by a pool (sad face) because we have to work, or take care of others. But I am noticing that it might just be possible to have a tiny bit of that rest and nourishment in ordinary life.
Sometimes we don’t pause because we’re busying ourselves in work to avoid how we feel.
There are spaces in-between our tasks that traditionally get filled, because it seems somehow wrong to pause. You complete a work thing, then flick to your emails, then start another task. But what if you took a tiny space in between? What would happen then?
Sometimes we don’t pause because we’re busying ourselves in tasks and work in order to avoid how we feel.
But also, our culture makes that easier for us, because we don’t feel like we’re supposed to have any spaces between things. Who do you know that takes five minutes out of every hour to breathe slowly or journal on the present moment?
I’m starting to wonder if these in-between spaces are powerful because they remind us that we are humans in bodies.
You might deliberately get some fresh air at lunchtime, but intentional, tiny pockets of time between finishing one thing and starting the next? Lying on the floor for 10 minutes like a toddler before the next Zoom call? Taking a 3pm nap?
I’m starting to wonder if these in-between spaces are powerful because they remind us that we’re humans in bodies, with a kaleidoscope of things going on in our minds and emotions, and not just productivity machines. They draw our full selves into our days.
I’m not saying there’s a capitalist conspiracy to separate us from our humanity, but maybe there is? Because nobody has ever taught us this stuff, and so many people I know feel guilty about resting, pausing or claiming even a few minutes back from their assigned roles and responsibilities.
Having a little lie down on the rug this afternoon like a hot and bothered 2-year-old might claim back more of yourself than you know.