The Space Between
Sunset. The Pacific Ocean. Marina, CA.
“Still, what I want in my life is to be willing to be dazzled, to cast aside the weight of facts and maybe even to float a little above this difficult world.”
~ Mary Oliver
From 1956 to 1957, twenty miles from any other human soul, living in a tin house trailer atop of a mountain, sweltering by day, freezing at night, cohabiting with mice while experiencing meager provisions, Edward Abbey worked as the sole seasonal ranger for the US National Park Service at Arches National Monument in Utah.
For 94 days during the summer of 1995, alone and seemingly unprepared, equipped only with her recently purchased backpack, stiff new hiking boots, disappointments and demons, Cheryl Strayed took a break from mainstream society and hiked 1,100 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail beginning in California’s Mojave Desert and continuing to the Bridge of the Gods in Oregon.
In the fall of 2014, two brothers, the youngest a recent college graduate, the oldest an I-just-plateaued-at-my-job-and-I’m-not-quite-sure-what’s-next explorer embarked on a self-proclaimed Freedom Tour which included a camper, 16 National and State Parks, and four months in the mountains of Lake Tahoe. Equipped with a we-don’t-have-a-plan-once-this-is-over-but-let’s-at-least-embark-on-an-epic-escapade attitude, the boys set sail with nothing but passion, curiosity, and untethered time as their guide.
From the beginning of time, poets, musicians, writers, artists, dreamers, spiritual leaders, and creatives have left the conveniences and comforts of home to escape the hubbub of the tamed world to reconnect with the wild world. While the specific destination is not often clearly identified, the objective is generally the same: I need some space.
Now, I’m not suggesting an adventure to the top of Mt. Fuji or spending a summer on a deserted island (Although if you are compelled to do so, I encourage and applaud you). What I am suggesting is to consider the clarity and opportunities that accompany empty space.
In Japan it is referred to as Ma. A gap. A pause. Negative space. White space. The necessary space around and between.
It is the in-between space that separates the non-stop action. It’s a break between the bustle and the busyness. It’s the space where creativity can awaken, expand, and come to life.
It’s an empty drawer, an uninhabited countertop, an shelf devoid of possessions.
A unexplored trail, a sunset sit, a meandering moment.
It’s a blank canvas, a clear page, an open invitation.
The perfectly timed pause between the notes of a concerto. It’s a siesta. It’s afternoon tea.
It’s the place where possibility resides. It represents wild space. It’s an opening to freedom.
“The night flows back, the mighty stillness embraces and includes me; I can see the stars again and the world of starlight.
I am twenty miles or more from the nearest fellow human, but instead of loneliness I feel loveliness.
Loveliness and a quiet exultation.”
~ Edward Abbey
We’re intimidated by empty space. We tend to want to fill our shelves, our pockets, and our time. So we stuff our closets, our calendars, and our minds full of so much that we’ve become numb while we wade in the excess. We’ve been influenced into buying what they’re selling. We’ve been convinced that more is better. We believe someone else’s thoughts or opinions hold our answers. We’ve been swayed into thinking that if our cupboards are scarce or our wants few that we lack.
We’ve convinced ourselves that somehow, surrounded by stuff, we will find what we seek.
It actually works in reverse.
When our closet is bursting, or our garage is brimming, or our mind is spinning, we’ve eliminated the empty space necessary for flow. When the background becomes cluttered, clogged, and congested, the subjects in the foreground become blurry, unclear, and undefined. We need to have space between our accumulations, our appointments, and our ruminations if our lives are to be fluid. The harder we try to force or coerce or manipulate things to fit, the more we will continue to experience friction in an already overstuffed space.
I invite you to consider cultivating and creating space that allows an opening.
“It had nothing to do with gear or footwear or the backpacking fads or philosophies of any particular era or even with getting from point A to point B.
It had to do with how it felt to be in the wild. With what it was like to walk for miles with no reason other than to witness the accumulation of trees and meadows, mountains and deserts, streams and rocks, rivers and grasses, sunrises and sunsets.
The experience was powerful and fundamental.”
~ Cheryl Strayed
There is a wild space inside us all waiting to be tended. This is where the good stuff dwells. This is where potential has been patiently waiting for a passageway.
It is by creating the space between that will nurture growth, stimulate change, and breathe life into our dreams.
Clear off that dusty shelf full of tchotchkes. Empty that drawer. Turn off your phone. Sit with a tree.
Trust what is revealed in the space between.
Edward Abbey, a philosopher, environmentalist, and advocate for natural spaces, authored over 20 books and brought significant attention to the value of wilderness stewardship. Although some believed him to be a bit of a rebel, (and he may have been accused of unlawfully removing billboards that were cluttering up our deserts), his ability to understand the value in creating space - and to sink into it considerably - impacted awareness and the magnitude of preserving our planet.
On the morning that Cheryl Strayed was to embark on her first day of hiking the Pacific Coast Trail and went to pick up her backpack, it wouldn’t move. It hadn’t occurred to her that she wouldn’t be able to pick it up. She simply thought that if she added up all the things she needed in order to go backpacking, it would be a weight that she could carry. After creating space and making some adjustments, she was finally able to lift her pack. Over the course of her three-month solo journey, she continued to release more that she ever thought possible and finally came home to herself.
As for the Freedom Tour… this story happens to be one of my favorites.
The conclusion of the Freedom Tour was met with new appreciations, new perspectives, new vocations, and memories that will last a lifetime.
Upon arriving back in Denver, the travelers were pleased to discover that a groovy taco and tequila establishment had opened in their neighborhood. It was there, in this little corner of the world, while enjoying queso and libations, with their renewed sense of purpose, palpable energy, and tales to tell, they met two radiant young ladies that now accompany them through their life stories.
As I write this, these adventurous young men are back in Lake Tahoe for a long weekend celebrating family, friends, upcoming nuptials, and remembering that the treasures of life are found in the space between.