Blank Space………..

If you have ever done any advertising, especially print ads, you are well aware of the importance of blank space. Too much “ink” and the visual “noise” will not draw you into the ad. It will be deemed confusing and exhausting. Counter to the aim of persuasion. (Ever try reading a book where the words fill the entire page, with no margins to speak of?)


Life can be like that…if you get too much stuff filling it, you will zone out, and just go through the motions or shut down altogether. Too much stuff, ordered and dictated by others, I mean.


Children need “blank space”. Everyone needs “blank space”. It’s the thing that frames the rest of your world. It’s sort of a personal time out, only one doesn’t necessarily “do nothing” in their moments of blank space. Sometimes it is letting the winds blow you where they will, like a sail boat, or browsing and musing. At other times, the driving force is not the winds, but a driving passion for something, like a rudder and a motor, with specific direction and speed.


It is during the “blank spaces” of your life that you are most at rest and at ease, or the most engaged; with time to contemplate and explore or become so excited you just have to share it with others. You feel compelled to pursue!


This is why I strongly disagree with long school days, and year-round schooling, unless there are good, long breaks without mandates by others.
Homework is a reasonable expectation, but the increased amount of busy work is unseemly, serving no real purpose.

Good “down time” is when one is allowed to pursue their own interests, unencumbered by what someone else thinks they should be learning about it.

• Reading a book for the sheer pleasure of it, without having to make notes and write papers and take tests over it.
• Endeavoring to build or create something without parameters set by someone else.
• Taking a walk in the snow and hearing the crunch, crunch, crunch, underfoot.
• Singing or humming because you feel a bit on the merry side of things, even if your voice isn't like a nightingale's.

It is during these moments that most people discover their own passions, and with enough blank space incorporated into their lives, they are more likely to achieve their goals. They are more able to embrace and exude happiness. They may develop an aura of achievement, highlighted by true accomplishments.


Discipline, in the sense of guidance and training, especially self-discipline, is extremely important, and I am in no way detracting from all it's requirements, virtues, and desirous results.


However, the necessity of putting in a good days work and working toward a disciplined excellence shouldn’t deny us from loose-ing ourselves from those bridles and running free in the fields once in a while (or even on a regular basis).