Liminal Space – Between Two Worlds

“Liminal space is an inner state and sometimes an outer situation where we can begin to think and act in new ways. It is where we are betwixt and between, having left one room or stage of life but not yet entered the next.”      Richard Rohr

Here is a quote to think about!

It seems to me that our world has entered a “Coronavirus Liminal Space“. We are “betwixt and between” two worlds. We are in a time of our lives like we have never experienced in our lifetimes. There is an opportunity now for us to think and act in new ways.

Our Camino experience was a “Liminal Space” for me as well. Walking the Camino just after I had retired from Boeing, I found myself  leaving behind one stage of my life and  entering my next stage of life. The Camino walk helped me to process, think and pray my way through as I headed into this new space, life after Boeing. It was a very special time in my life I will never forget.

I wrote a Camino blog post just after returning from the walk, called “Human Being vs Human Doing”. In this post, I was wondering how life would be different as I exited my “Camino liminal space”. I used the following quote:

“If we are not careful, it is all too easy to fall into becoming more of a human doing than a human being, and forget who is doing all the doing, and why.”

I think that the “Coronavirus Liminal Space” has helped me to focus again on the value of being vs doing. I am finding that it has slowed me down, much like our long Camino walk did.

In the slowing down, I have found myself much more aware and present in the moment. I am working on trying to be “happy in my own skin” without a lot of doing, just being. I am seeing that I am not defined by what I have accomplished, or what I have purchased or what great trip we have been on recently.

Thanks to my “Coronavirus liminal space” I am seeing life anew and trying to think and act in new ways.

My prayer is your all remain safe and healthy!

Blessings and all grace to you,

John

Photograph of the Week

Liminal Space

I thought this image kind of fit the idea of this blog “A liminal space” since it evokes a sense of timelessness. The image of this old gnarly tree was taken during a trip to Colorado in 2012. I revisited it recently and added the cool night sky using a “sky replacement” feature in the Luminar 4 editing software tool.