The Space Between
The photo pictured here is a fairly accurate portrayal of how I have been spending my summer. Lots of laying around, cuddling my dog Kona, enjoying time outside, and embracing the space between.
The space between what was, and what’s coming.
As a self proclaimed busy bee and productivity junkie, embracing where I am at, without planning for the future, is a huge feat for me.
One that I am very proud of.
Example 1: In June I left a 10+ year career in education to pursue my creative endeavors, and though I am completely ready and capable to support myself in this new way, a part of my identity was left behind when I walked out of my classroom for the last time, and this is a feeling worth sitting with for a bit before pushing through it.
Example 2: My fiance and I recently got engaged, and though I couldn’t be happier and know we want some type of celebration of our love, I don’t know when we will be married. We want kids, but I don’t know when we will have a baby. We want a home, but we don’t even know where we want to live!
What I do know is, our definition of success right now is different than what I once defined it as. It’s less about reaching a certain goal, making a certain amount of money, or meeting some arbitrary timeline that society has deemed as “normal.”
Our definition of success right now is embracing the beautiful space between.
“Planner” Georgia wants to jump two feet into my new career, taking on as many clients as I can for creative projects, enrolling in new courses to learn more, make my website better, or reach more people on social media.
But “Space for Joy” Georgia, is more focused taking her own advice that she gives to the world. She is focused on continuing to slow down, lean into the unknown, and trust she is exactly where she’s meant to be on this journey.
I’m learning slowly that it’s okay (and maybe even awesome) to say “I don’t know!” when someone asks what my plan is. That success doesn’t always mean doing what’s expected of you, and that it very often means having the guts to go against the grain, follow your intuition, and know the universe doesn’t give you any ideas that you can’t make happen.
Nothing is guaranteed in our world besides right now. And this is why I am surrendering more than ever before and not waiting for a certain moment to feel successful, complete, abundant, or worthy of space. I am all those things and more because I exist.
It’s time for me to stop forcing, and see what flows.
To stop planning and see what comes.
To enjoy this very moment, and watch how the joy I feel now shapes my future without having to lift a finger.
As much as I am embracing the space, I don’t want to completely shut out the part of me that truly gets lit up from planning something, so there is certainly something I am currently working on. But I am doing so from a place of zero stress and trust that my gut will lead me in the right direction, closed doors are detours in the right direction, and everything is working out perfectly.
We are all creatures of habit, and it has taken me a long time to realize many of my habits were not serving me. It took time to realize the importance of taking a step back and asking, “wait, do I want this? do I feel aligned?”
Wherever you are at, whatever habits you have, I encourage you to take a moment to ask yourself if you are focusing too much on arriving at a certain place, or meeting a certain goal. Reflection is key.
What if, there’s no where to rush to right now? What if the exact moment you’re in, is the one you’ve been trying to get to? What if you leaned into this very moment in time, embraced the space you are in with gratitude, and let life unfold around you?
The space between is a beautiful place to be, if you let it.
