Thursday, May 14, 2009

margins as metaphor


can we live without margins? without the spaces at the edge of our pages that give us room to doodle and play tic-tac-toe? obviously, we can go day to day, but can we Live?

...with no margin of time - going from "must do" to "must do" to "MUST DO" without time to sit on the porch, or go to bed early, or hang out with the people who make you laugh

...with no margin of money - paying the bills with nothing left for a coffee with friend or lunch with your honey; or trying to figure out which bill not to pay this month so you can have groceries

...with no margin of space - constantly surrounded by the needs and voices of others, with no moments where you are truly alone, in the quiet, with no conversation and no demands

...with no margin of energy - filling the demands of the world, leaving you with no energy to give to what you want to give, be that your family, a good cause, or just walking the dog

Life was made to have wide margins - in fact, i would argue that some of it's best moments happen in the margins of our pages. living without them drains us of so much of our best selves. i know too many people living without margin... it seems to be the curse of our culture. but we would do well to take a look at our lives and figure out where we can create a little white space, because the doodles are important.

you be x's and i'll be o's.

3 comments:

Marilyn said...

I know I am one of those people recently living without margins. And it hate it. I hate this kind of life. I am taking June off. To sit on the porch. To lay about. To dig in dirt. To hug girls.

Annie said...

I agree...I have mostly lived without the margins in the past several years but recently have been finding AND making more room for margin. It is SO worth it :0)

Hadassah said...

In one of those living in the margin spots again! it is fun and scary all in the same breath.