The Space Between

A Message on Transitions & Change

Dearest friend, 

We often think of the ticking of the clock as a merciless master making up the backdrop of our days. We mark the passing of time carefully. The clock tick-tocks its seconds, the calendar counts the days, the birthday candles placed with numbered precision.  Children markedly older and taller. We notice the subtle changes: the first white hairs, the wrinkles drawing their lines on the face, the colors of leaves, the first light drift of snow. 

We watch as one year disappears and another arrives. We look upon the blank page and begin to inscribe it with promises, resolutions, bucket list items. Do we miss the transition between the ending and the beginning? The inbetween limbo space that is neither old nor new—the pause between breaths. It is here that spaciousness lies. Here, where time is no longer a merciless master, but a metronome to mark the rhythm of our days. 

My dear friend, my wish for you is that you notice the in-between. Take a breath before turning the key and setting off down the road. Watch as the leaves drop, the snow falls, as green resurfaces. Thank the moon for keeping her promise of returning.  Bless the sun for rising on the horizon.  Cast your eyes on the waves as they surrender unto the sand and flow back into the ocean—a simultaneous arrival and departure. 

Remind yourself that your heart is spacious enough to contain all of life. The heart is capable of holding sadness and joy, anger and  love, disappointment and hope—often simultaneously. At times, I have stood on the shore of life and braced myself for the waves. The “what if’s” of imagined possibilities playing their siren song. Yet, in that moment, the only true thing was the ebb and flow of the tide.  The space between breaths urging me to feel the cadence of the moment and surrender to its paradox. Here, we can find beauty regardless of outcome. 

This year my wish for you and for myself is that we don’t shy away from life out of fear. May we hold true to our heart’s capacity for expansion. May we create the spaciousness to wade through doubt and see what is on the other side of the shore. 

Without wax, 

Silvana