Harmony, Order, and Balance

When it comes to my immediate surroundings, I see always that there’s sufficient space between and around objects; this extends even to my crowded library — or my library that would be crowded, and would feel crowded, if I didn’t observe my own personal rules of harmony, order, and balance. This creates more than a pleasant overall impression; each shelf, stack, and book is placed and arranged in such a way that it’s an open invitation. But this isn’t the result of any great or serious labor; rather, it’s an ongoing exercise that brings its own joy.

Earlier this morning when I was washing dishes, it arose in my mind that I should say something not only about the arrangement of physical objects, but of my thoughts and activities as well. Simply put, the more space I allow between and around my thoughts, and between around each of the things I do during the day, the more harmonious the result. While washing dishes, I’m not outside taking a walk; when I’m outside in the garden, I’m not inside arranging books; in other words, I do one thing at a time, and as I’m doing it, it does me, in the sense that I’m open to whatever it reveals.

Naturally this extends to writing. One needn’t look far on this website to see and feel the same sense of harmony, be it in its overall arrangement, or in the arrangement of the lines and spacing of individual poems. I’m very keen on this, that white space, so called, is used in a way that helps each word, line, and paragraph to sing. That’s only one reason I could never stand to see advertising on these pages. The others are, by now, more than obvious. Anything that comes between us, distracts us and hampers our understanding of each other.

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