Artists sometimes give us a much stronger sense of what an image is by showing clearly what it’s not. Rather than fill in the detail of what’s there, they focus on clearly delineating the spaces where there’s nothing.
This concept of negative space wants to inform how all of us live. It can be hard to define a clear identity through who you are and what you do. But your character comes into sharp focus when you’re certain about who you’re not and what you avoid.
When you fail to draw clear boundaries for yourself then clutter accretes.
Not just physical junk. But also how you spend your time. Your habits. Your friends. All this stuff.
And where does that leave you?
A random entity whose ‘shape’ is determined by what random stuff has sidled into your life without your explicit consent (but without you kicking it out).
Don’t let yourself be a smudged watercolour with blurry borders. How much more powerful when you draw a clear, firm, and very deliberate line around yourself in permanent ink.
It’s a message to yourself. Now you know who you are.
It’s a beacon to others. You’ve pulled away all the frivolous, meaningless trappings that previously blocked their view. Now they can see beyond, to the core of what matters to you and about you.
Think and act carefully on what you choose to leave out of your life. It’s what you leave out that gives meaning to what you include.