The moments I remember most are rarely the ones I rushed through.
Over recent months, I have found myself thinking differently about space.
Not physical space, although that matters too.
The kind of space that allows us to breathe.
To think.
To create.
To notice our lives while we are living them.
For much of my life, I became very familiar with giving.
Giving time.
Giving energy.
Giving attention.
Giving support.
Like many people in helping professions, I learned early on how to respond to what needed doing.
There was always something to organise, solve, manage or carry.
And often, there was genuine satisfaction in that.
Yet recently I have found myself paying attention to something else.
The role that space plays in wellbeing.
Space in a diary.
Space in a home.
Space in relationships.
Space to think.
Space to create.
Space to simply be.
What I have been noticing is that space is rarely accidental.
More often than not, it requires a choice.
Sometimes it requires a cost.
A day with fewer appointments creates space.
So does asking for help.
So does leaving time unplanned.
So does saying no to something we could have done.
At first glance, these choices can feel expensive.
They often involve giving something up.
Income.
Productivity.
Opportunity.
A sense of being useful.
My mind often returns to the cost.
Yet when I look back over the days that felt most nourishing, what I remember is rarely the money.
I remember the walk.
The conversation.
The slower morning.
The feeling of having room to breathe.
Over the past few weeks, I have experienced moments of spaciousness that felt surprisingly significant.
A walk without rushing.
Time in a café.
An afternoon that was not completely scheduled.
A calmer home.
A conversation that did not need to be squeezed between other commitments.
None of these moments were extraordinary.
Yet they changed the quality of my experience.
What I am beginning to understand is that space is not empty.
Space is where life happens.
It is where ideas emerge.
Where connections deepen.
Where creativity returns.
Where we remember what matters.
Without space, we can end up moving endlessly from one responsibility to the next.
Productive perhaps.
Efficient perhaps.
Yet disconnected from the very life we are trying to build.
This does not mean withdrawing from responsibilities or avoiding contribution.
Giving remains deeply important to me.
Creating remains deeply important to me.
But increasingly I am recognising that receiving often arrives through the spaces we allow ourselves to have.
A free hour.
A slower morning.
A walk through the woods.
A quiet cup of coffee.
An afternoon that is not completely full.
Perhaps this is why I have been thinking so much about space recently.
Not because I want less from life.
But because I want more room to experience it.
🌿💛
M.A.L.I. Neuro-Somatic Practice
Reflect. Reconnect. Grow.
