I saw this picture the other day and loved it. It’s the one I’m sharing here – the two horses on a large grass field. There’s this beautiful green colour of nature, but what speaks to me even more is the sense of space that the photo embodies.
Creating space around you
Space is for me like the air I breathe. I need enough physical space around me – to feel good and to be at my best. When working I am often at my best when I am alone. And if with others, I need enough space and privacy to be able to free my thinking and get into a state of flow with the task at hand.
It depends on the job and task, of course. And it also depends on the type of person you are, as some of us are at their best when among people and under pressure. But what I am trying to focus on in this article is the moments you need to be creative, original or to create something new. This is where you need “space”. Creativity requires space.
There is no doubt that space creates the perfect conditions for ideas and things to happen and for people to develop.
Creating space in your mind
When we think of space we think of everything around us, everything external. Personal space, 3D space, space in the universe… But why don’t we give this idea a 360º turn and focus on the space inside us.
When we create space inside us we create conditions for something new. Where do you create it? In your mind, mostly.
In your 24/7 active mind that often doesn’t give you a break even for a second. When your mind is full of thoughts, there is nothing new, fresh or original than can come into existence. This is like when you had to write a paper at school or university and you couldn’t get any line on the paper. You had many thoughts in your mind, together with fears of not being able to write a good paper or finish it on time. This all creates a cocktail that disables to free your creativity. Simply because you did not create space for it to arise.
Creating space in your “self”
I would now take it one step further. Lets imagine that your inside space is not only about your mind. And I’m not speaking about your stomach or guts. If we forget about the simplistic duality of body and mind and see our being as something that is more than that, we can call it our “self”. I’m not going into more detail here. Just imagine creating space in yourself, in all of you. That’s where artists work from. That’s where your love and your real power actually comes from. It’s not from your mind, but from the whole of yourself.
When you open yourself, create space for the new and enter in a state of flow… see what will happen then!
How to do that?
I guess you’re asking yourself now how to do it. How to create space in the dimensions I spoke of. I can’t give you a practical 3-step guide on how to create inner space, as it would ridicule the topic :-).
But I give you a tip: You won’t create space by thinking of how to create it. It’s by letting go of things you don’t need anymore. You can create inner space by getting rid of something – stress, tension, repetitive thoughts… just give it all a break. You may have heard of the cliche of great ideas coming when you’re taking a shower. It’s nothing else than an example of a relaxed state where for a small moment you let go.