Here’s a different thought – how much investment have you made in empty space? I’m not talking about how much you pay for rent each month; I’m talking about how much conscious effort, money, etc. have you spent to give yourself a nice, open area to work or play in?
Usually it’s the reverse. Usually we spend our time and money chasing things to fill our empty space. For example, let’s say we move into a brand new apartment. It has a substantial living room. After moving our sofa and end table in, we discover (horror of horrors) that we have entire walls of the living room that don’t have any stuff on them. A typical response is to run to the store (if you have money) or to plan (if you don’t have money at the moment) to purchase items to fill the empty space.
It’s like there’s a cultural rule that any substantial empty space must be filled. Even walls need to be covered somehow – there’s a fairly large market for paintings, wreaths, and picture frames to fill empty walls. And what’s a desk or shelf without knickknacks? I’ve actually seen people on Freecycle request “knickknacks” – not specific ones they wanted, but any knickknacks they could use to fill space. It blew my mind!
This time of year, most people are busy making lists of what they want for Christmas. This is usually (because of societal custom, not by necessity) a list of items. You might want new tires for your car, or a faster computer, or a new set of dishes, or any one of a million other things. I’m betting, however, that “space” isn’t anywhere on that list.
Why not? Isn’t there some area of your life where you could use more space? Maybe it’s as simple as clearing a desk so you can write stories or pursue some sort of artistic project. Maybe you need to figure out how to organize a storage area so you can get at things without tripping over all the junk on the floor. Perhaps you’d like to clear out an entire room in the basement so you have a nice expanse to practice dancing, or martial arts, or whatever else you desire.
Why not give yourself the gift of space this year? Take a few minutes in the midst of all the holiday craziness to think about making a “space” list. It doesn’t take much time, and the really neat thing about the items on a “space” list is that they typically don’t cost you money. You don’t have to worry about whether they’re going to be cheaper on Black Friday. You don’t have to worry about whether your friends are going to get them for you. And space never goes out of style.
If you’re really ambitious, maybe you could give a friend the same gift. Rather than getting a present, maybe you could help a friend clean his garage. Or maybe you could get together with a group of friends and all help each other do some much-needed cleaning. I guarantee you’ll remember that experience long after the cheap holiday trinkets have been forgotten!
What about you? Are there areas of your life where you could use some extra space? Sound off in the comments!