Space IS the next frontier

Dear Play, Community, Human, and Fun Enthusiasts,

I’ve been thinking a lot about space – not the planets or stars – but space in my mind, space in my day, space from technology, space in my calendar, space to play, and to connect. Protected space. 

This focus was a direct result of a small weekend retreat I attended over the summer. My resulting revelations and clarity were only possible because I stepped out of my regular life — with all the 24/7 doing, thinking, and planning suspended — and gave myself space to reflect and look in from the outside. It bolstered my emotional, mental, and physical health. 

My friend Karl of Community Plate shared the following poem by Judy Sorum Brown with our group. It resonated with me deeply and has been on my mind every day since. Not only did the poem bring the clarity of the experience home for me, but it also offered a wonderful visual and guide for what we fall into doing (piling on those logs) and what we need to prioritize in our everyday lives (protecting the space in between) for ourselves, and for our children. My hope is that it does the same for you.

FIRE

What makes a fire burn

is space between the logs,

a breathing space.

Too much of a good thing,

too many logs

packed in too tight

can douse the flames

almost as surely

as a pail of water would.

So building fires

requires attention

to the spaces in between,

as much as to the wood.

When we are able to build

open spaces

in the same way

we have learned

to pile on the logs,

then we can come to see how

it is fuel, and absence of the fuel

together, that make fire possible

We only need to lay a log

lightly from time to time.

A fire

grows

simply because the space is there,

with openings

in which the flame

that knows just how it wants to burn

can find its way.

We are all pretty darn good at piling on the logs – and there are plenty of others who will hand us more logs. But who is there to protect the space between our logs so that our fire is not burnt out?  No one.  

It is up to us to protect the space in between our logs so that we can show up stronger and brighter in the world. And for us parents, we need to make this priority and value clear so that we can guide our children to protect their needed space by not expecting or giving more logs (achievement, activities, pressure) and be sure that we don’t ignore the space entirely by filling it with tech distraction. 

The tremendous opportunity in protecting this space is not just to not burn out, but reflect, uncover, and discover so that we can live our one and precious life full of meaning. And that our children find space for imagination, joy, and their own discoveries.

Make space your next frontier.