What Might Emerge?

17th Nov 2022

Everything will work again if you unplug it and plug it in again, including you.

Anne Lamott, author of Bird by Bird

Space.

I reckon it’s all too rare a thing for many of us these days. When I ask people ‘what are you most looking forward to over the summer break, one of the most common answers I get is ‘time to breathe out’. Yeah.

That’s what I’ve been getting over the past few weeks. The video above was shot on my way to a remote spot in Western Australia that I’ve been going to for years. Now that I’m back, here are some reflections on what slowing down and creating that space did for me, and why I think it’s important for all of us:

Connection

Being in the same place, doing the same things, with the same people day in and day out for two weeks creates the conditions for human connection like no other. Conversations start slow, and evolve, not over minutes, but over days. Having the space and time allows conversations to go deeper, explore further, and create richer connections.

What conversations are you running on a long-line right now?

Clarity

Like a stirred up glass of water will eventually settle, the act of stopping and letting go of my day-to-day busyness allowed me to get some perspective. By living each day with a mix of action (surfing, windsurfing, foiling) and reflection (especially watching the sunset over the ocean, and seeing a billion stars emerging each evening) I found that I could join the dots on things that has been on my mind, and clearly see patterns at play that I couldn’t see before.

Which problems could do with some clarity right now?

Calm

Clarity is a mental state. Calm is an emotional one. After two weeks of unhurried, rich conversations, and a daily practice that helped me get clarity, I couldn’t help but have a feeling of deep calm. Coming back into the ‘real world’ (what is that, anyway?) I had a feeling that nothing was insurmountable, there were less hard decisions to be made, and ‘I’ve got this’. Since I’ve been back, that calm has helped me stay grounded and focused amidst the inevitable spanners that life throws at me.

How could calm serve your day to day right now?

After reading this, you might be thinking ‘well Digby that’s all very well for you, but I’ve got a day job and way too much on my plate to entertain going off to the wilderness for three weeks! If that’s the case, let me offer you three daily practices you can use anywhere, anytime:

Connection: choose to be fully present with every person, in every conversation. You’ll cut through faster and make a better connection.

Clarity: get out in nature every day for 30 minutes. If you can’t do that, get photos of nature around you. Even your screen saver. Access to nature slows us down and helps us get perspective.

Calm: breath. Consciously focus on your breath. In for four seconds, hold for four, out for six. Rinse and repeat a few times. Calm.

Let me leave you with this question:

What if we invested as much energy into creating space as we do into getting stuff done?