Strength from the Void

What is it that gives a bowl its usefulness? It's the vacant space where there is no bowl, no substance. That's where you pour the cereal or the milk, or whatever.

What makes the wheel useful? The vacant space where the axle goes through.

A room is essentially a vacant area within a building. Imagine a doll house that was a solid block of wood with no spaces within the exterior walls. Kind of a strange picture, but you can probably grasp it. The vacant spaces enable a child to put doll furniture in place, and re-enact imaginary scenes.

I recently spent a day in New York City. What a bundle of energy! I have to believe that to survive in such a place one needs to create voids, spaces to close oneself off from all that frenzy of human interaction.

In the business world we've become increasingly aware that computers and technology are not lightening our workload to give us more time. Instead, we have more connections, more emails, voice mails, tisks and tasks and tusks twisting our time into a torrent of energy-draining output.

In order to survive, we need to create voids, little spaces where we can hibernate, even briefly, to recharge our emotional batteries. Let's not be deceived into thinking that doing more and more is the way to accomplish more. The truth is sometimes counterintuitive. By doing less we may accomplish more because we are not just busy, but busy doing the right things.

Make sure you carve some space for yourself today. You'll be a better person for it, and will likely enjoy a longer, fuller life.

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This blog entry has been recycled from March 2008.

Are You Stressed?

"The world is too big for us, too much is going on, too many crimes, too much violence and excitement. Try as you will, you get behind in the race in spite of yourself. It's a constant strain to keep pace... and still, you lose ground. Science empties its discoveries on you so fast that you stagger beneath them in hopeless bewilderment. The political world is news seen rapidly, you're out of breath trying to keep pace with who's in and who's out. Everything is high pressure. Human nature can't endure much more." 
~ Atlantic Journal, June 16, 1883 

Can you believe it? This was written more than 120 years ago.

For sure there are pressures on us all. For many, it is simply the weight of our personal responsibilities. For others it may be the difficulty of living under a tyranny. How do we deal with it?

Everyone needs a safe harbor, a place to get away. A place to find rest when weary. For some, getting back to nature is a wonderful escape. Others find refuge in their hobbies. For many, relief is found in their faith. Christians, for example, find comfort in the words of their Lord when he says, "Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

It seems almost comical when the writer from the Atlantic Journal states, "Human nature can't endure much more." It depends, I would suggest, on where you are sitting.

This blog entry has been reprinted with my permission, from Ennyman's Territory, July 31, 2007

Photo: Cuernavaca, Mexico, 1980

Kayaks

I stood on the balcony listening to the quiet, the placid lake rejuvenating my depleted energy.

Out of the silence I heard voices.

Strange. There were no people here. Trees, brush, flowers, a lawn, the lake, the overcast sky. Then, all was explained as the kayaks emerged from 'round the bend, sloshing leisurely by, the kayakers engaged in an easygoing conversation.

In the midst of the stillness it seemed shouting to me, but was surely nothing louder than a coffee table chat.

The episode quickly passed.