The Space Between

In this liminal space, the space between an ending and a new beginning, there are so many possibilities. Poet William Blake wrote, “In the Universe, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between them, there are doors.” We may not know what lies ahead, but the possibilities are endless. Liminal space is a transitional space - like the dawn and dusk hours between night and day that yoga and Ayurveda consider auspicious. Magic happens in these transitional times when we briefly, if even for a moment, let go of what was, stop imagining what might be, and live fully in the present.

This year has been dreadful. There has been so much pain and suffering, so much lost, so much to mourn. It’s been easy to get caught up in wishing this year away and bidding it farewell. It’s easy to look ahead and get excited for something different; to busy ourselves with filling out our new planners, and making resolutions that we seldom keep. But in reflecting on what’s passed, and imagining what’s to come we lose sight of what is - we miss the moments where life actually happens. By learning to wait patiently in the present moment we are opening ourselves to greater possibility. We are declaring that we have faith that the future we are destined to live will unfold in due time.

In yoga this is called vairagya, or non-attachment, a freedom from worldly desires, and is describe by Patañjali as one of the two requirements of yoga (the other being abhyasa, or sincere practice). If we truly want to experience the abiding peace of yoga we have to learn to live in these transitional spaces, with all of the unknowns, and remain unafflicted, free from the desire to know what’s next. In the in between spaces there are doors, and behind those doors lies your freedom.