Room for Empty Space
creating spaciousness in an over-inundated time
Hi Friends,
As I was working in the studio this week, I was reminded how August is a transitional month when summer activities slow down and preparation begins for the fall. It reminds me how busy life gets and how important “empty space” is to process growth and change.
I was inching my way through my audio book, Miles and Me, by Quincy Troupe— which is an autobiographical book on musician Miles Davis and his friendship with Quincy Troupe. He was discussing musical structure, how sound is arranged, and described what he was seeking in a composition:
“I needed a sense of openness & open endedness. I learned to need space within the structure of the composition…I needed surprise, too. Rather than the rigid tightly wrapped sameness.”
I immediately paused thinking about how this applies to many things, but specifically the day-to-day. In this information age, we seem to only want fast paced growth. That is the expectation. Our overconsumption of media lends itself to lifestyles that are full to the brim: constant productivity. The instagram and media hamster wheel we sit in, does indeed filter into our day-to-day. A sort of frenetic hyper-activity that is the short circuit to burnout.
I think about dancers doing pirouettes where they are spinning so fast, the only thing keeping them grounded is their eye locked in on one point— "spotting," where they focus on one stationary point to maintain balance and control. Of course, this is only maintainable for so long.
How do we create time for more receptive states of being? What some might call the “spiritual,” to creep in during seemingly non-productive moments where actual “evolution” can occur.