Space & No Space...

I have all these tools, meditation, contemplation, concentrated focus, deep-breathing, creative visualization, which I use in order to "get my space."  I find that getting your space, expanding your inner landscape is essential. It's how you ground yourself, expand your soul, feed your spirit, cultivate the silence where you can basically get your shit together.  It doesn't come easy. It takes a bit of practice and discipline. But it's not something you should labor over. If you are using your tools correctly, getting your space becomes as easy as breathing. Sure, if you are a Swami sitting all alone on the mountaintop, it's easy to get your space, the trick is to be able to find that space when you are in the middle of the maelstrom, in the eye of the hurricane, in a roomful of chattering human beings. 

You can easily "lose your space." I mean, it's sort of amazing how easy you can lose your space, for instance, any of these little arbitrary things can send you reeling into a deep existential crisis:

A perfectly placed word.

A stray dog-hair.

A hard look.

A sad news story.

A stumble.

A disturbing memory.

A disorienting dream.

A foiled plan.

A simple misunderstanding.

Plus, you know, pretty much anything can throw you off. You will be made uncomfortable. You will get the heebie-jeebies. Instead of getting your shit together, you will lose your shit. All that focus, discipline and practice can go right out the window in the blink of an eye. It's true.

The a.m. soundtrack - Neil Young's "Rust Never Sleeps" (1979). Yes, well, another strategy for "getting your space," brew up a pot of kick-ass coffee and put this record on the stereo. Turn the volume up to "10." So good. It works. Every time.