A Space for all Seasons

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I invite you to do this simple exercise which surprised me with a eureka moment. The following steps should be followed in the order presented. Please be mindful of the answers that come to you.

1. Look around the room or area you are in
2. Describe how you see the room or area
3. Now look at the room/area again but pay closer attention to the space in the room.
4. Describe how you now see the room or area
5. Imagine now that the room/ area has no space
6. Describe how the room or area would look.

If you were like me, your initial assessment of the room may have been focused on the appearance and contents of the room, how items were relatively placed and not so much on the space in the room. This exercise was an eye opener for me because I began to see space differently. I used to see space as the designated walking zone or what was left over after an attempt to create an ambience. I did not see, nor did I appreciate that space was the thing that made creativity possible. Not only do I now see space as essence, I also see that the concept of space is applicable to our lives.

What if we could develop the mindset and foresight to first spot potential and capacity instead of overshadowing our assessment of ourselves, others and situations with appearance, immediate circumstance, comparisons and history? 

What if we could grasp the awesome concept of space and extend the gift of grace woven with wisdom, to every area of our lives?

I now have a greater awareness for space as my beliefs about myself and about what is actually possible in my life were contested. Previously, I would associate or brand things, people or myself based on the immediate, leaving little room for the consideration of potential or capacity for enhancement. I often viewed emptiness or void as punishment, idleness or waste but have come to realise that they are blank canvases for creativity, renewal and intentionality.

Through this simple exercise I was awakened to these truths; my life-space is a subset of an expanse of space, my life-space comes with endless possibilities and transformational potency, my life-space is given to me to creatively add value and create margins, my life-space is my power and responsibility.

With my new fascination with space allow me to share some of what drives my excitement and hope.

My Assessment of Life-space

1. Our life is like a room that comes automatically fitted with space and potential. Unfortunately, at times we find ourselves in contexts that fall short of our standards, promise or desire, and these are mistaken as the basis of our identity, value and future outcomes.
2. We are not our situations. We often see ourselves, judge our value and relevance on the situational contents of our lives – work, relationships, status, associations, family, past, accomplishments, results, connections, assets, mistakes, finances, education, regrets…etc.

Our essence, our true value, is not defined by our situations but by our endless possibilities –

•  the potential deposited in us by our Creator;
• the solutions/value we bring to the world;
•  the innate gifting, skills, abilities we possess;
• the creativity, passion, drive, waiting to be unleashed on the world to make a positive difference.

3. Our life equation is made up of so many components ranging from fixed to variable, foundational to layers, structural to temporary, with some elements changing their nature at different stages of our life. Our understanding of each component will affect the effectiveness of our strategy and results.
4. We are enhanceable! We are not restricted, neither are we bound to any state or situation in life. We can rearrange, remodel, reinforce, redecorate, or enhance the room of our life whenever we choose and whenever things are not heading in the direction we desire. What tremendous hope and liberty this truth can bring to those who feel roped to their situation and sentenced to a life of suffering and hopelessness.
5. We are creatives! We all have the ability to create, re-create, and never stop creating. Everything is not worked out for us, and intentionally so, as a significant part of our leadership training is to learn how to make wise decisions in light of many options and enticements. The task of continuously producing good fruit on purpose and in purpose is an adventure in itself.
6. So many things in life are temporary or of no eternal permanence. While investing in life and building out our space, it is important to know the clear distinction between;

• what is a resource and what is source,
• what is form and what is essence,
• what is temporary and what is lasting,

in order to place more emphasis on what will really matter at the end of the day.

7. We own our space; we have the choice to define our personal brand or leave it up to others to define for us. Responsibility comes with the authority to effect changes. The results of our life are 100% on us as we possess the power to choose and make crucial adjustments, no matter how small we perceive our efforts to be.
8. We are accountable for our space. The onus is on us to use up our space for good, to use it to reproduce, and to create margins through the process of purposeful growth and service. We are equipped to ask questions, seek out answers, process results, repeat processes, find suitable solutions and to knock on doors for options, support and collaborations. Like the parables in the Great Book indicate, we will have to give account of the space which was assigned to us during the timeframe of our existence.
9. Our life-space is a subset of a bigger space. Being mindful of oneness and alignment becomes an important element of creating a productive and peaceful life. It is our responsibility to discover and use the tools of life to sow, grow and produce fruits of service. Our stewardship of our life-space will impact the lives of those closest to us and be an example for them to follow.
10. Failure is a choice. Failure is a state, posture or condition and differs from a failing grade which is simply a classification of results or outcomes based on a standard. When we fail at things, we have the opportunity to learn from each attempt, making adjustments as we go along, and continue on our pursuit towards success. Choosing to not continue, to not learn, to not do anything differently, to give up, is a choice. Not only are we gifted with space, we are also gifted with innate and external resources, tools and techniques. We are empowered to discover, experiment, analyse, make changes, retest, conclude, as we shape our identity and strive towards greatness.

We were designed to WIN! We have everything we need to claim our victory and fulfil our purpose on earth. Open your mind, open your eyes and see the answers that lie within your reach. It will never be because we could not but because we chose not to.

11. Given the above, we must be intentional about how we live. We cannot drift to the top of anything and neither can a room be effectively repurposed without effort and a plan to guide the process. Lack of care, unintentionality and neglect will result in less than favourable outcomes and may even produce the fruits we do not want. Your room of life cannot change on its own, it needs you to lead the process of change. We have to be intentional and follow through with actions to bring our goals to fruition.
12. It is just one space for all seasons. We have but one life to live, one space to work with. We cannot allow ourselves, or afford, to be stagnant, fixed or limited. We should not look, feel, think or speak the same way, season after season. Space demands that we undergo continuous refining, trial and error, proofing, bruising, healing, learning and transformation, right up to the end of our time.

It is your space! Make it count. Make it useful. Make it great!

Habits of a successful steward

At different stages of life, we will require different things, people, resources and situations to support our growth and capacity. As perfectly outlined in Ecclesiastes 3 of the Great Book,  there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the sun. There will be times for planting, times for reaping; times to tear down, times to build up; times to mourn, times to celebrate; times to keep, times to throw away; times to learn and times to apply learning; and it will all happen in the same space, your life-space for all seasons.

As we go through the different stages and seasons of life, we remain accountable for our space and the results that flow from our decisions. We have the responsibility to find solutions to fill in the gaps that will surface along our journey. Wisdom emerges as a most valuable tool in life as knowing, when to/when not to, how to/how not to, what to/ what not to, can make the difference between a favourable and less than favourable outcome.

An understanding of separateness and purpose becomes important in deciding, at every moment, how to respond to things as they occur and change. Separateness in the midst of togetherness also helps us to identify healthy boundaries and areas that we need to disidentify in order to grow purposefully. We may find it useful to categorize situations and relationships as unequally yoked, seasons, reasons, or lifetime and to formulate an approach to each.

We have this remarkable life-space gift, what will we do with it from now on?

We have been given all we need to succeed, some we are born with, others we are to learn, and we are even placed in the right space-cluster to accommodate progressive learning and growth.

What will you do differently from today? 

It is often said that we are our biggest challenge, and I totally agree with this as self-leadership is one tough area to master. Within our toughest challenge though, lies our greatest reward and potential for impact and effectiveness. As we grasp the concept of space and the limitless possibilities of our own life-space, I encourage you to make self-leadership your priority. Self-leadership is authentic leadership, one that starts from the inside, taking responsibility and ownership of oneself before attempting to lead others. Self-leadership will guarantee our transformation as we take decisive steps towards creating excellence with and in our space.