Clearing Space
A Spring Witness
I wrote this almost two decades ago. I understood it then the way you understand something in your mind before your life has had a chance to teach it to you.
What I know now is that clearing space is not a productivity strategy. It is an act of becoming.
This past season asked me to release something I had been carrying quietly for years — the belief that I didn’t understand my own work well enough to lead people toward it. What I discovered, on the other side of that release, is that I always had what I needed. I had been trying to pour myself into systems and models built for someone else’s shape. When I stopped, something settled.
My nervous system found a new floor. My sleep changed. And one Monday, in the middle of a live podcast interview, a tornado warning sounded. I got up, moved to safety, waited, and walked back in. No spiral. No apology. Just return.
That is what coherence feels like from the inside. Not confidence. Not certainty. Settledness.
So I offer this piece again — not as instruction, but as witness. Spring is a real threshold. Something in you may be ready to empty the cup.
A Cup of Tea
Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.
Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.
The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"
"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"
~ from 101 Zen Stories
Dear Sisters,
One of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves during any major life transition is to clear the decks. Instead of clinging so tightly to what we think we know, it can be both liberating and empowering to take a child-like approach to our lives. Children have the most endearing sense of openness and posture of exploration. They embrace what is and absorb new information like sponges.
When we are full of opinions, ideas, and thoughts, we cannot hear what is calling to us. Space provides us with a different perspective on our lives. An alternative perspective often elicits a radical shift in our understanding of ourselves and the world.
There are many ways to clear space in our lives. One powerful way is to take the idea very literally and purge the contents of our homes or offices or whatever living space we feel is cluttered. One of the amazing things about this type of clearing is that most people that do this experience clearing in other areas of their lives shortly after undertaking the task.
This suggestion is not intended to lead anyone the direction of creating busywork by cleaning. However, there is something very powerful about using this as a tool to create space periodically.
It is perhaps most important to make time for mental space. Mindfulness, movement, and being in nature are effective ways of quieting the mental chatter that consumes our energy. The fact is that most of our internal conversations are not a constructive use of our time and energy, but unless we make a concerted effort to manage them, we spend the bulk of our time attending to the chatter.
By emptying our minds of what we think we know, we can observe ourselves and the world around us with fresh eyes. Life has an infinite store of lessons to teach us, embracing new ideas and information is the spice of life and living. Small shifts in our perspective often have a large impact on our worldview and how we interact in and with the world.
What are the ways in which you can clear space in your life for the new to emerge?
Hey Pam, this was much needed today. Jano