Making Space

We live in a post-Freudian, self-help, pop-psychology saturated era, where culture is obsessed with diagnosing and “fixing” the layers of our inner-world, to arrive at some magical state in our psyche of perpetual happiness and bliss. Because, as we all know, true joy and happiness don’t come from the external, from circumstances; no, they come from a thriving soul. I won’t disagree with the notion that a healthy soul can go a long way towards a fulfilling (and joy-filled) life. Nor would I argue against the reality that our inner peace and joy can be a source of great strength when we are buffeted by the storms and trials of life.  

However, I am a person who is keenly aware and sensitive to environments, and the way in which places, spaces, and atmospheres interact with the soul. In fact, I am so fascinated by the concept that it became one of the foremost theoretical lenses used in my thesis four years ago.

My fascination with space may have been birthed out of a natural sensitivity to environments, but it also has a very practical foothold in my life. My husband and I own a construction company. Our job, for many years now, has been to take spaces and make them beautiful. (A job my husband executes very, very well.) We both love the feeling of a space, where a vision of beauty and function has been realized. On more than one occasion we’ve been known to sit in a newly finished space simply to relish in the satisfaction of it.

But my curiosity about the interplay between environment and soul has taken me on a much deeper journey than contentedness with a job well done. It has led me to research, exploration and philosophical considerations. Why do spaces “feel” so different? How is a space constructed and/or imbued with hospitality, warmth, love, etc.? What do environments have to teach us? To confess to us? And what do the environments we create reveal about us? There is definitely a spiritual component to this that I will, perhaps, address later. For now, I simply want to focus on the natural, and our response – subconscious or otherwise – to it.

As you can imagine, given that this topic was so significantly woven throughout my thesis, my research on it has been vast and varied. I’ve read books from Winifred Gallagher’s The Power of Place: How our Surroundings Shape our Thoughts, Emotions, and Actions” (Pop-psychology. Great writer. Has a place in Dubois, WY) all the way to Gaston Bachelard’s The Poetics of Space (Heavy theoretical text. Beautiful, intriguing, but not recommended for light reading). Gallagher highlights the disconnect from environment in our modern society when she writes:

Like those other living things, our structure, development, and behavior rise from a genetic foundation sunk in an environmental context. Yet while we readily accept that a healthy seed can’t grow into a plant without the right soil, light, and water, and that a feral dog won’t behave like a pet, we resist recognizing the importance of environment in our own lives.”

Gallagher, pg. 16

At first glance, you might assume that Gallagher is simply addressing the old “nurture vs nature” debate here, and, at a level she is. However, neither myself not Gallagher limits the analysis of the influence of environment to the people, community, and/or social structure in a space. No, what we are talking about is the actual matter that your body and mind come into contact with on a regular basis.

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What is the aesthetic of your life and how is it shaping your emotions and personality?

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Where do you live, work, and play? Is your home cramped, cluttered, chaotic? Is your workplace sterile, with cool colors and cold material? Do you find yourself tense, rigid, and edgy? Whether we recognize it or not, the spaces we interact with every day – their design, organization, color, beauty, accessibility, etc. – will affect our emotions and our thinking. This is one of the many reasons escaping to nature is so coveted. The natural world grounds us; it connects our bodies and souls to a reality void of the industrialized (dare I say contrived) world of our everyday existence. (Says, of course, the woman who has chosen to embrace unpredictable and often ridiculously inconvenient weather to live somewhere close to nature and separated from the congestion and chaos of modern cities. I admit that not everyone feels the same way about nature.)

No matter what your preferential environment is, I can assure you that you have one. There are spaces that can put you at ease, stimulate you, stress you out, on and on. Think of an emotion and I can bet there’s an environment you can also think of that triggers it. And since our emotions play such an influential role in the way our brain processes information (develops and grows) it really isn’t hard to see how important it is to both take stock of our spaces, and to be purposeful about planting ourselves in healthy spaces or creating our own: spaces that fuel our emotional and psychological development.

Let me share a couple of examples to help illustrate what places can do. The first story is not my own, but one of a dear friend I admire, and who, likely, had no idea how much her story stuck with me. This friend is a brilliant thinker and scholar who has been invited to speak (and write) on a variety of platforms. A few years ago, I was listening to one of her talks and she shared how profound her move out West had been on her thinking. She explained that growing up on the East Coast, in a city of more than a half million people, space felt stuck, limited. She described that space – buildings, homes, landscapes – could only be remodeled or refurbished. While renovation happened often, nothing new was ever built, because there just wasn’t room for it. When she moved out West, space was very different. It felt as if the room to build new was limitless. This shift in environments spurred a paradigm shift in her thinking. Where before she could only consider what was pre-existing and how she could add to or change what was, now she felt convicted that new things, new ideas, could be created. She felt ripe and energized to try something entirely new—to build what didn’t already exist. The physical environment of open, free space facilitated a dramatic shift in thinking and living. I’m happy to say, she has become very successful in her ventures.

My other story is opposite, in some ways, because it is about the benefit of the right enclosed space, rather than openness. The kind of space that Bachelard refers to as a “nest.” About a year ago, I was given the gift of space – I was gifted an office for 6 months. At the time, the gift had tremendous practical merit. I was given permission to paint the room and bring whatever furniture I needed/wanted, which I did. (It was a small space, so that meant a desk, a chair, and a shelf.) I spent hours in that office over those 6 months, working on a variety of projects. In hindsight, however, I recognize something was happening for me besides just productivity. That closet-like room became a sacred and safe cocoon for my fragile and damaged voice to heal and grow strong. It convinced me that there is, in fact, space for me in this world. (That may seem silly, but it was a big deal for me at the time.) It provided privacy for my vulnerability and was a daily reminder that I was sheltered and protected in my rebuilding season. I left that space with a courage and a strength that I did not have when I entered it.  

It is January, and a new year has just begun. Even though New Year’s resolutions get a bad-wrap, and you may have already been inundated with messages about all the different strategies you need to embrace to make this year awesome, I do hope you haven’t given up on setting some goals for yourself. Hopefully, you’ve even given yourself permission to believe for some wild dreams to come true this year. And, hopefully, you are also figuring out ways to set yourself up for success.

In the process of planning, organizing, discipling and dreaming for this new year, I want to encourage you to pay attention to the spaces you inhabit. Do what you need to do to plant your seeds for this year in an environment that will care for them properly.

• If you need to reorganize or rearrange your house or office—do it.

• If you need to throw up a fresh coat of paint and give yourself a color the helps you breath deep and feel energized—do it.  

• If you need to find new space to facilitate your goals—do it.

The right environment can make a world of difference, so give yourself permission to find or create spaces the fuel your soul!