The last entry in the Summer of Pause. Again a bit late, but I’m starting to think of this more as incubation than tardiness.
I’ve been back at work for a few weeks now and in catching up, I’ve been relearning my work. Last week, I got to attend a great short session with our graphic design team on some of the latest trends in graphic design. This is a group of creatives that does the most astounding and beautiful work. They make technical things look like art.
One of the principles of good design is to leave white space on the page. As many of my graphic design colleagues say, it enables the page and the text to “breathe”. Cramming things into every little space on the page creates business and chaos - they eye doesn’t know where to go. And everything becomes as important (or as trivial) as every other thing.
I’ve been thinking more about the white space in my life. Or really, the lack thereof. I’m on a near constant crusade to rein my attention span in and not be so tired and not fill every moment with something. And yet I find myself constantly battling with myself.
But what if I just leave some white space? What if I allow life to breathe for a minute? What then?
As we approach a new season, how can we create white space? We have collectively been heads down for three years, and enclosed. Worried perhaps, too, because things took a turn for the worse. But even on those moments, there is always white space. I, for one, am dedicating myself back to my hands - to creating, to writing, maybe making more cups of tea. To do useful things with them. And to do nothing with them.
How will you create white space?