The Space

I’ve been thinking a lot about space lately and here I go again…!

The ideal space, for me, is a big one – but not too big. Big enough to have room to stretch; big enough to get up and walk around a little while I gaze out of the window; big enough to feel the sun on my back and the fresh, salty breeze wafting through the open window – and yes, it has to be salty – my ideal space is close to the sea.

My space needs blue sky and soft, white clouds. My space needs green grass and a tall tree with blossoms cascading down. My space is a surreal space. It can be indoors, cosy and welcoming, but also outdoors, with a huge expanse of sky overhead and a blackbird singing from the top of the tree. I need freedom in my space.

Sometimes I need emptiness. I need to be alone to think, to rest easy and come to a place of peaceful contemplation. But I need people in my space too; people that love me, people that encourage me, people that fire my imagination and spur me on to enjoy new things.

The Jewish philosopher, Martin Buber, near the end of his life, was asked a question. If you had to choose – would you choose books or people? He said a wise thing (in fact, he said a lot of wise things). Buber admitted that as a young man he would have chosen books. Books would have been what he preferred to accompany him in his own private space. But as he grew older he learned to value the human race so much more and said that he had come to believe that books were a wonderful accompaniment in life, so long as when he came out of his room he could gaze on a human face.

So I too like my space empty some times but, in the end, I need a human face or two to keep me company in my space. My space must be big enough for that.