What have you learned this past year? Anything? Or has this year been one of endurance- just get through it? Have you spent anytime in reflection? Has anything become important to you? Health? Time? Family? Friends? Faith?

The other Sunday I heard a poet being interviewed on Krista Tippett’s On Being. It was a rebroadcast from an earlier show. The poet was using a word she had heard from a Japanese student: yutori- meaning living with spaciousness. The whole concept of the word is to live life in the moment and not be rushed or pressed for time. An example of yutori is when you leave early to get somewhere in order that once there, you can have time to look around. Yutori is an intentionality to our schedule that allows us to be present and not rushed. In essence- to give yourself wiggle room.

The concept of living with spaciousness resonated with me. I need to remember it especially during this transition of moving out of isolation/Covid time into a new “normal”. I view my life with the demarcation of pre-Covid, rushed and feeling that I did not have any time and Covid, a feeling that time is not rushed at all. This past year, I have found it is easy to lose track of time when there are no set appointments or schedules. I have no clue to the day of the week, much less what day of the month it might be. In fact, I am hesitant to go back to any pre-Covid type of schedule and am anxious to have re-gatherings. Not so much for any type of contagion but rather the fear of being sucked into the vortex of the tyranny of the urgent and all things that scheduling appointments, meetings, and gatherings entail.

One of the blessings of the Covid shut-down is that I have had to slow down. I didn’t realize how much my schedule was packed until it no longer was. I have had time for reflection and thinking.

I have been thinking that I would like to extend the concept of living with spaciousness to more than just my day planner. I would like to experience spaciousness in my thoughts, my time, my actions and to some extent, my physical surroundings. It is interesting that Covid has brought not just a halt to our schedules but also provided us with the physical reminder of buffers. For just like we need to distance ourselves to remain healthy, we need the idea of distancing with our thoughts, actions and even physical surroundings- to give ourselves space to thrive. It is in those spaces that we give ourselves latitude to plan, to dream, to build relationships, and to live into our purpose.

For me, I find writing in a journal the best way to buffer my thoughts. I can remove the “stuff” that is swirling in my brain and leave room for other ideas to take shape. It is through the journal that I can lay out my future plans and give myself time and space before enacting them.

I also find that when I have physical space- lack of clutter around me, I can concentrate better. Perhaps you have noticed, many are de-cluttering during this time. Whether intentional or just following society’s home improvement trend, it is not a bad idea. It is literally providing spaciousness in one’s home/office which can also be incorporated for post-Covid living. Providing “distance” with our belongings lets us see what we have and to decide what we need and don’t need.

I like one of the explanations to needing to declutter- If you have to move things around to accomplish a task at home or office or feel overwhelmed by all your things, then you might want to think about de-cluttering and adding some “space” to your physical space. Of course, now that whole households- work spaces and school rooms- are under one roof, de-cluttering may take on a whole different meaning and form. The psychology of clutter can be tied to procrastination- sorting and tossing out an item can be unpleasant to people and avoided at all costs. The more things pile up, the more out of control one feels and the more one avoids the inevitable. But, the benefits of tackling clutter can outweigh those inertia feelings.

I also like the idea of building space into our schedules. In the pre-Covid time management plan, it would be suggested to add travel time in-between meetings. But, with teleworking, it still is important to place time blocks into our days. Our son is taking medical school classes online. He says many of the professors go over the allotted class time because they think the students don’t have to move from one classroom to anther. With everything back to back, they have no time to digest what is being taught much less shift papers around before the next barrage of information is given.

But we could practice implementing travel time into our schedules. If one “arrives” early for a meeting or gathering (even if it is social), there is time to take a deep breath, think about what is going to happen, perhaps say a prayer or two before engaging in conversation or activity. Maybe before any interaction we should always take some time to say a mantra, quote or Bible verse. Even if it is just a reminder to “choose to be kind” before we enter into a new situation.

I think one of the true tenets of living with spaciousness is in providing space for others to grow. It might mean that we give others space to make mistakes as well as space to succeed. Living with spaciousness is not just in how we manage our time but in how we give others room to be the best version of themselves.

What about you? What lessons from Covid have you learned? Anything you want to continue in the post-Covid world? How are you with your time? Do you live with spaciousness? If so, what does that look like?

Yutori is also defined as “a state with sufficiency and ease”. I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a good state of mind to me.

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)