Oct 06, 2023
Day 27: Blank Pages

Just as we need space between words to know the end of one and the beginning of the next, we need blank pages between chapters in stories.

As a reader, we almost don’t see those blank pages. Practically invisible to us, we turn the page without consciously thinking about its existence.

But they hold great purpose, those blank pages. They help our brains with transition, much like a fade-out does in film or a piece of music. The blank pages allow us to make sense of starting at a new point in the story, which may not follow linear progression. Blank pages also offer permission for a leap in story, and experiences left unwritten.

Blank pages are the keeper. Like the color white, they are anything but empty. They’re quite colorful in what they represent.

Sometimes the blank pages represent years of life and the passing of time. Other times, they hold space for a private moment of insight full of personal, juicy details.

Yesterday was a blank page day.

Though committed to this 30-day Ohio to Oregon experiment, which includes writing each night with updates and reflections, yesterday didn’t come with thoughts for sharing.

Today was very similar, and it’s hard to describe. And that’s the whole point. I’ve been an observer, not a thinker. Compelled into awareness, driven to insight, and none propelled by thoughts.

I’m beginning to wonder if the hidden purpose behind this entire experiment was to help me process my thoughts in a more structured and iterative fashion. A way that forces life to intervene thus slowing down the progression of thoughts. Each has its own 24-hour timeframe rather than 24 millisecond timeframe and there’s something to be said for those benefits.

We are after all, human BEings, not human DOings. Becoming the awareness that observes the thinker is an absolute paradigm-shifting experience.

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