What whitespace can look like

Whitespace

Life’s greatest inspiration happens in the margins.

But someone recently asked me a great question. How much whitespace do we need to reset our minds?

I don’t have an answer. Yet. Some research studied the effects and satisfaction at 20 minutes; other experts will tell you 2-5 minutes is enough to make an impact.

But here’s what we do know:

• Higher creativity is associated with more brain matter and activity related to the part of the brain most active when our mind is allowed to wander, and we are in a calm and positive frame of mind.
• The frame of mind we are in matters. Are we calm? Or frenetic? Will we ruminate and spin? Or soak in moments we wouldn’t notice otherwise?

Our best answers come to us in these moments. A quiet drive. Washing dishes. Petting the dog. Taking a shower.? Staring out the window with a cup of coffee. We slow down, settle in, and allow the answers to come to us vs. forcing them into existence.

Whitespace.

The margins on a page.

The negative space on a painting.

The absence of something.

An empty canvas.

I create it softly each morning. This morning, I made a cup of coffee, and for 30 minutes, I sat in a massage chair in my living room, fed the dogs, and sipped that first cup.

My son pops his head around the corner.

“I hate my gym shorts.”

“Yeah, you’ve grown since fall.”

“But I’m excited to bench today; it's my worst area.”

He runs away, and the world dissolves into quiet again.

After the kids leave, I grab a book and a second cup of coffee (decaf this time) and move outside.? My eldest dog curls up for his first nap of the day. The puppy runs around the yard to get his energy out.

At 40 (or near it), I feel like half grandpa dog and half puppy. Able to relax and able to run when I need to. This may be what wisdom feels like.

I’m reading “The End of Solitude: Selected Essays on Culture and Society” by William Deresiewicz. The topic tracks well as I sit in solitude. My brain reminds me that the book is past due, and I need to go to the library. I release the thought.

I read a page. I catch myself looking up again and staring out at the park. I’m not ready to read — yet. I am soaking up the garbage truck sounds and the lawn care folks taking care of the park behind my house. Watching the birds flit around and realizing my neighbor's bush has bloomed since I last paid attention.

In a world that values how much we can read and how quickly, my goal is not to read fast. It’s to soak up what I do read. To absorb it. Understand it. Mull it around. Let it flow in and through me.

I’ll get through a few pages today. But that’s all. It’s enough.

It’s been 2 hours. This short essay is written. My mind is calm. I have a big day today, but I’m ready for it because I prioritized the whitespace.

Maybe 2-5 minutes is enough. But sometimes I need two hours.? It’s been a long couple of weeks, and until this morning, I have been overstimulated and not taking enough care of the mind that fuels my home and work. A few minutes hasn’t been enough for me. I needed more.

But now I have it.

The answer isn’t about getting the most efficient amount to keep you going. It’s about the amount of time you need to thrive. The more driven you are, and the longer you’ve sustained the sprint-paced marathon, the more whitespace you need to return to center. To see what’s possible in the margins.

For the last 20 years, I’ve been running. But I wasn’t always that way.? Once upon a time, a field was my daily companion as I stared at the clouds, wove baskets out of tall grass, made paint out of dandelions, and wrote songs about deep thoughts.

When we grow up, we still need that field.

We still need that space.

But rarely do we pursue it with the same abandon we pursued it as children.

A loved one calls.

After a few minutes, we can both tell I'm not ready to be done with my own company.

“I love you. We will talk later.”

Whitespace. We are not at the end of solitude. We have to choose it.

Where do you get yours??