COMPANION NOTES: the spaces between

Space is more than a physical emptiness, more than an absence of some thing, it has its own presence, its own qualities and shows up in so many ways.

We found examples of fluid-filled spaces in our body while exploring spinal alignment in the Field Notes on Spaces Not Places. You’ll find the video guides I promised to help you locate these spaces at the end of this piece.*

Before that, read on to dip into spaces of other kinds, noticing how it arranges different things from objects to time, from people to thoughts. You’ll find some poetry and journaling prompts along the way.

*actually I had a problem uploading but didn’t want to delay the post - I’ll email again once I’ve sorted out the tech :-0

THE SPACE BETWEEN OBJECTS

The proximity of objects creates shapes within space. When we arrange things, be that flowers in a vase, paraphernalia on a desk, souvenirs on a shelf, we do so by paying attention to the space between them: each object occupying its own space and then settling into the proximity of its neighbours. Nature does this too.

Have you seen videos of “crown shyness”? They show the movement of tree tops swaying in ways that keep channels of space open between them. It’s not entirely clear why. It could be to prevent damage or the spread of disease. It could be to let the sunlight flood amongst them and down to the forest floor. Whatever the reason, the spaces appear to arise because of a co-operative relationship between the trees, and regardless of which way the wind is blowing, the spatial tension remains.

For us, as spectators of this movement, we might focus on the high branches and leaves that tantalisingly dance with each other, or the fluid boundaries of the spaces that shift in response to the invisible wind. Equally, we might readjust our focus to stare into the clouds beyond, narrowing our focus yet deepening our field of vision into the far reaches of the sky.