By Marney K. Makridakis
Last weekend, I was waiting for my printer to email me the proof for the current issue of my self-published magazine, Artella, and I knew that I had to make some space in my quite-overstuffed email inbox so that my ISP would accept the file. There are emails that have been there quite a while, as I continue to strive to re-organize my time so that I can write the kind of thoughtful responses that I would like.
Here’s where this gets to be quite ironic. I love the mail that I receive from all sorts of fabulous creative people and I cherish every word. Corresponding with people is my favorite part of my business. It brings me so much joy. But I hold myself to a high standard, when it comes to responding to letters with honest reflection and sincerity. And so, when I get behind in responding, the whining inbox seems to morph into a know-it-all cyber ticker-tape that scrolls, “if you had your act together, you would have answered these messages!!!!” (I imagine you might be acquainted with this scroll, yourself. I know that they seem to run rampant this busy time of year.) I had no idea how to deal with my perceived inadequacy except to fantasize about deleting every email and trying to start over so I could “do better”.
So, back to needing to make disk space to receive the proof. I didn’t have much time, so I just created a new folder, labeled it “Inbox Part Deux”, and dumped the entire contents of inbox in the new folder.
WOW. In that blank white window on my screen, I saw the light! I felt instantly recharged and revitalized. The rest of the day, I was astonished at how free I felt. Obviously, my old mail and “to do” list hadn’t gone anywhere…but something opened in me when I didn’t have to LOOK at it, any more.
By creating a bit of space for myself, and working out of two inboxes instead of one, I ended up making a good dent in the backed-up email, and I did a pretty good job of keeping track of new email, too. It feels much more manageable now, which means that I can go back to enjoying it, more. This simple act gave me exactly what I needed: a fresh start. To get the fresh start, I didn’t have to delete anything…I just gave myself a new space in which to work.
With a brand new year here, many of us are thinking about fresh starts, clean slates, new leafs, and the like. Making goals and plans for the New Year can be really exciting and energizing, but it also can be draining, if that “ticker-tape” starts to scroll “shoulds” at us. We want to make goals, plans, and resolutions, but, c’mon…is there any room for them?
I invite us all to look at the tale of my two inboxes as an allegory for the new year to come. What if the most important part of our New Year’s Resolutions was to make the space for them to happen? What if our first priority was to figure out what can be put aside in order to really enjoy the new things being created? What if we didn’t have to press the “delete button” to obliterate our old habits, projects, and patterns? Rather, we can create a space to try out some new patterns, and see how they work. We can always go back to the old stuff if we need it…it’s all in the “part deux” box.
There is an infinite amount of space to place with. Isn’t it possible to create as many new inboxes as we need, in order to create more space for ourselves? While it might not feel like there is enough time in the day, in truth, there is NOTHING more infinite than the vast container of time.
© Copyright Marney K. Makridakis.
About the Author
Marney K. Makridakis’ company, Artella ~ the waltz of words and art, is a magazine and support network for artists, writers, and creative spirits. For more information about Artella’s splashy publications, free teleworkshops, creative e-courses, supportive communities, and the upcoming creative artisan marketplace, visit the Artella Web site at www.ArtellaWordsAndArt.com.