The Spaces Between

Life is a continuum of shifts and changes, some subtle others radical. Some, like graduations, birthdays, and weddings are marked with celebrations.

Others slip past as though they’re no big deal — or aren’t celebrated because we feel sorrow or fear. Still, we notice these shifts.

Fortunately, BIG changes don’t happen every day. Mother Nature knows we need space between big life events.

The idea of “spaces between things” popped into my head on a one-day trip I took to Hawai`i Island in April. Tiffany’s Art Agency in Hawi held an artist reception and my florals were among the featured paintings.

Hawai`i Island is BIG. It’s spacious and I feel calm immediately upon landing there. I flew into Kona and drove North to Hawi —an hour and a half drive through old lava fields.

On my way back to the airport at the end of the day, I noticed places the lava had been cut through to create a road. There were definite spaces between the layers of lava.

The spaces I saw alongside the roadway were likely spaces formed as the lava flowed. Some might have been created years apart, others, days apart, still others formed by the flow of the molten lava as it moved and cooled across the plains of the island.

The spaces between the flows captured my attention. I’m not sure why, but I noticed them.

“Deep, Wide, and Spacious” is the title of this painting, now on exhibit at Tiffany’s Art Agency in Hawi

I remember a time about 35 years ago when I was fascinated with “the Tops of Things” like the tree tops against the sky. I didn’t know why I was so interested in them then, and I’m not sure why to this day.

It’s possible that “the tops of things” represented the future to me. If so, perhaps “the spaces between things” represent the present to me now.

Noticing that which captures your attention is a great way to discover something new about yourself.

What’s capturing your attention these days?