What is White Space?
According to author Jeremy Zoch, in an extremely busy world with stimuli coming from all directions, it’s helpful to find time each day for simple, healing, white space – space that is quiet and available for you to be without any agenda.
You may find yourself falling asleep. It’s ok. You may find your mind wandering. It’s ok. It gives your mind a chance to process things – so maybe you won’t have to do that thinking at 2AM!
Even by setting aside a few minutes, this time can become powerful. Over time, I credit it with strengthening my sleep habits, reducing my overall anxiety, and reducing my cortisol levels.
In past generations there would have been far more time in solace and more thinking space without the constant stimuli that surround us today. Those stimuli may make us feel connected and comfortable, but I think the real connection may be in giving us a little time to settle and let the mind do its own marvelous work.
Where to Find It & How to Get It?
When are you doing nothing? White space is when nothing is going on and we are just there. [I] set a goal of three times a week with fifteen minutes of white space (that is, doing nothing). I had to start by lying on the couch and listening to a side of one of my vinyl records, then just walking around the neighborhood with no particular place to go.
It evolved, and I was sitting still on the couch for fifteen minutes after I came home from work and just being. I’ve since learned that even driving home with the radio off and being in the stillness of the car transports me home in a different mindset from when I listen to music, news, or other media.
This original article first appeared in the SUMMER 2024 issue of City Style and Living Magazine.
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