A Table Big Enough
making space for the things you love to do
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Spaciousness in your life is a feeling. It feels calm and roomy like there’s plenty of time to get everything that needs to get done completed and still have more time to do the things you enjoy. There’s no panicked rushing around, no multitasking, and no regret and lament that you never have time to do the things that light up your soul but don't check off any of the things on your to-do list.
The feeling of spaciousness is elusive, yet sometimes we experience it. Then again, often we don’t, which, of course, is odd because there are the same number of hours each and every day. This tells us that the experience of spaciousness is one of both reality and perspective. Do you feel like you have enough time to get everything done or not? Do you feel deprived of the things you love doing? Do you constantly have to eke out time to do what you love? Do you then feel guilty, like you've stolen time from something more important?
The sense of spaciousness in your life is a worthy goal. When there is a sense of enoughness around time, life becomes far more manageable, and your days flow with ease and joy because everything gets done, and you have time for pleasure and joy.
Creating sustainable spaciousness often means a radical pruning of commitments and tasks, an off-loading of responsibilities, and a release of a variety of shoulds and oughts. This is often not easy, and you will find any number of excuses, real or imaginary, not to break free of the time prison you are in.
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February, an austere, bare-bones, minimal kind of month, offers an opportunity to take stock of how you spend your time and why you might want to take more seriously the legitimate need to do things you love.
I recently read a post from The Colour | Newsletter | Lab | Community published by the Toronto Ink Company, titled The Power of the Pause (and cute animals)
In that article was an interview with “experimental comix artist, illustoria's creative director and poetical sketchbook surrealist Elizabeth Haidle.”
One of the things Haidle points to as a foundational building block for developing a life filled with pause, the intermission between acts, and better focus and concentration, which I will add leads to a life that feels spacious and not overwhelming, is this…
Surface area: a big table that you don’t have to clean up at the end of the day lets you explore art in a more continuous way and makes art not hidden but a part of the sweep of life.
This is an extremely powerful and practical way to begin to create spaciousness in your life, both the feeling of spaciousness and its reality.
Haidle is an artist, and so am I, but let’s be clear about something: what you do that lights you up is your creative thing, whether it is conventionally thought of as art or not.
Let’s look at a few of the possibilities. Naturally, any kind of visual art fits in: drawing, painting, sketchbooks, mixed media, sculpture, and the like. But also paper-crafting, weaving, knitting, spinning, embroidery, all kinds of fiber arts, ceramics, clay-work, and woodworking. Literally, anything you make using physical materials, whether of your own design or using a pattern. Then, we could move on to cooking and baking, herb-craft, gardening, and terrariums. Costume design and sewing are part of this, too. Photography, videography, and graphic design are here as well. Next, we could move on to music. Making music, writing music, and even listening to music can be an art form. Of course, we can’t forget writing. It could be a journal, morning pages, poetry, the great American novel, or anything in between. Physical activity counts too: hiking, biking, skateboarding, dance, yoga, and on and on it can go.
My point is that things that bring you joy and pleasure and make you feel alive all have a creative component to them, even if it’s not overtly a “creative” act in the usual sense. I would argue that the creation of deep satisfaction in your soul through whatever means counts as an art form of sorts. Bringing the goodness of making and doing to yourself and into the world is quite a worthy endeavor. And it only needs the act, not necessarily the measure of the product. Even the creation of “bad” art, an imperfectly executed yoga pose, or a terrible poem is quite a thing to behold for the sheer courage it takes to create, and the soul-satisfying experience of doing the thing is all that matters.
“Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country
So what about The Table?
The Table is both real and a metaphor. The Table is both spacer and time. First, there must be space in your life for doing the things you love. You must honor them, hold them in such high regard, understand the undeniable value they bring to you, and acknowledge that they are as important to you as food and water are to your body. They must be a continuous part of your life.
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time. A schedule is a mock-up of reason and order—willed, faked, and so brought into being; it is a peace and a haven set into the wreck of time; it is a lifeboat on which you find yourself, decades later, still living.”
― Annie Dillard, The Writing Life
So, The Table is more than just a chunk of time you block off on your calendar for your creative and most loved pursuits; it’s an entire way of living your life so that your most valuable experiences become a “part of the sweep of your life,” as Haidle notes.
Surface area, space. Dedicated space. Don’t let the creative pursuits of your life be hidden. Make a life where you don’t have to clean up your most loved activities at the end of the day. They’re nothing to be ashamed of. Even if others don't see their value, you do. You know how they feed your soul, keep you sane, heal the hurts, bind the wounds, stimulate the intellect, help you feel, delight the senses, and unleash a current of joy within you.
Invite them into your life, let them live in your space, and create a table big enough to give them a legitimate presence in your life. Let your creative passions and pursuits become part of the furniture of your life.
It's true that inviting in this creative flow and its related paraphernalia does bring a bit of chaos into your home and your life. But it is from the chaotic mix of crazy and conflicting ideas, pipe dreams and real possibilities, insights, and innovation that a beautiful, blossoming, evolving life is built. You are more alive and engaged when you are creating and doing. Life is not a spectator sport; you must dive in and get your hands dirty, and creativity is a dirty business filled with mistakes, experiments, trials, what-ifs, oh-nos, ah-has, and deep levels of satisfaction.
What do you love to make or do? Are you having difficulty making time for those things? What is your biggest obstacle? Do those around you support you in your creative endeavors? What do your creative passions and pursuits bring to your soul that is affirming, healing, and beneficial?
The comments section is a safe and welcoming space to share your insights and experiences.
Comments and conversation are always appreciated and enjoyed, so feel free to let your voice be heard. I read them all and try to respond to each one.
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So interesting the metaphor of the table but I think of it slightly differently or do I? In several spiritual occurrences in my life, the metaphor of the table represents the place we are called to sit at with great reverence like in Jesus' table or the place we invite others to share our journey with on earth. It is a sacred place of beginnings and maybe solutions. So, Jan, your table of spaciousness and creativity shows us a whole new perspective on who or what is at your table of insight and wisdom. Thank you
Oooh, I have table envy! Or studio envy! (And a funny aside, as we talk about juggling too many balls, I just wrote "invoice" in place of the word envy. Ha!) I like the idea of having enough mental space to leave room for projects to stay visible and evolve as they need to. This is an area I really struggle with, always feeling like there's never quite enough of me to go around. I continue to search for ways to create more balance. I think, as you suggest, I may need to let go of some commitments, even though I only take on obligations I feel drawn to in the first place. I'm not in a position to retire just yet, but I sometimes think that is how I could reclaim the largest chunk of time. My bank account gives me the stink eye when I talk of such things! 😅