How I Discovered a Sacred Place — My Space
The connection with books and journaling is my secret path to discover the deep secrets of something special — ME.
The Universe Within
The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of “Space” is emptiness. The vastness of our Universe, the unparallel mysteries, and the unknown - waiting for our species to explore.
I got fascinated with the concept of the Universe after reading Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan. One, it tells you the basics of our home, The Earth; second, it opens our minds to the entire concept of Space and what awaits us in the coming decades, years, or millions of years.
The more I exposed myself to the vast space surrounding us, the more it intrigued me about the vastness of space within me. My own self.
And in this pursuit, I started writing Journals. Not just one, but multiple of them.
I started experimenting with morning pages, self-awareness, gratitude journal, dream journaling, and so on.
Writing my random thoughts and about my life was a very old practice, but only in recent years, I realized that I could convert this simple writing habit into a serious journaling habit. And that’s what I did.
The blank space in the notebooks, though first intrigued me and guided nothing. But once my mind found a new friend in these blank pages, it started pouring a lot, and the blank spaces started witnessing a lot of blue ink.
I started seeing what Carl Sagan saw in that Pale Blue Dot in the notes I was making in the journal books. These spaces were letting me explore the hidden Universe underneath.
How I found “My Space.”
After ~ five years of writing daily journals, I realized an important aspect missing from my life.
A space which I can call “My Space.”
Being part of a demanding 9 to 5 job and while shuffling between commute, office, and family life, I never realized that “I” need space in my own time.
It was a strange realization. My time was available to everyone except me. I did not own my time!
A feeling of gap started bothering me.
I turned back to journaling because it lets me explore the concept of self-awareness. And, I use self-awareness to clear the haze, i.e., “Who am I?” and how to come close to “My space.”
5 A.M. is not just a fad that people follow to sound different. For me, the 5 A.M. habit came as a boon. Admittedly, it came slow and easy to me. But, when I entered the 5 A.M. club, my sleeping hours aligned, working hours got in shape, family duties aligned — and I started dedicating two to three hours daily to writing journals, meditation, and outdoor running.
And, then these three activities opened up a lot of SPACE for me. A space that I started identifying as “MY space.”
As days converted to months and then to years, the habit became an essential part of my life. “MY” space was becoming an alter-life. A new era was getting shape.
My identity was getting clear to me. And it was overwhelming. The feeling of getting to understand my space and me started doing a few things:
- It made me notice the strengths that I could use to become better,
- It made me adept at becoming a new version of myself each day, at learning, and implementing, and
- It gave me the confidence to face this world through a new lens — patience and perseverance.
My Space and What it’s leading up to
The more I read and put my thoughts on paper, the more I get close to the pious “MY space.” It offers me time with myself. A few hours in the day delivers fresh ideas and introduces a new version of myself to myself. I can clear the haze layer by layer through the practice of writing and spending time with myself.
With the combination of 5 A.M. mornings, writing journals, and exploring “My space,”; I am making use of one of my most hidden strengths — Silence.
Silence has become golden. Because when I am silent, I get to enter the doors of “MY” space very easily.
It’s not easy to maintain silence, and that’s why I look forward to the habits of reading, writing, and running. They allow me to find a shelter in “my space.”
To conclude
Discovering “My space” is indeed a journey. And, every day, when the three habits of reading, writing, and running allows me to enter the zone, I feel grateful.
It’s important to find time and speak to yourself. I believe it’s a powerful element that is not difficult to attain. We only need to find that activity that allows us this time with ourselves. To me, writing, reading and running, helps to make a smooth transition to “My Space.”
What’s your key to “My Space?”
Nishith is an author and creator of a unique self-development platform — “Be Better Bit-By-Bit.”
Grab your copy of his debut book — Be Better Bit-By-Bit and listen to his podcasts Be Better Bit-By-Bit and 10 Bullets — 100 Words Book Summary.
