Lynda’s Journal of Blessings – #782 – The Space of September
Welcome!
On this journey of sharing BLESSINGS
I am accompanied by some friends. You can visit them, too.
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Lynda’s Journal of Blessings – #782
>> The Space of September <<
©Walking by Inner Vision, since December 2009.
__My Thoughts
September always seems to slip through my fingertips!
This month has been a whirlwind of activities here at 104 River Road.
First, I cut my time on-line down significantly because I was sort of stuck into a habit of wasting time with nothing to show for it. It’s true. The DREAMER in me, gets caught up in LOOKING and my brain goes off in so many directions – we get nowhere – fast. This resolve to be more careful of my time, is working wonders for me now. I am online from 1 to 3 PM most days. I am developing a new and better habit.
Our new concrete driveway is now completed. This is the entrance to our property, and the garage it leads to was Lambert’s Auto Body Shop for nearly sixty years. I’ll write about that in the future, but for today, I am thinking about the SPACE that changed over the past couple of weeks, This was a big project, and it takes quite a lot of days to get it. Now, the driveway and sidewalk must be protected for another three weeks so that no one drives on them. A barrier is set up to keep cars from turning into the new driveway. It is now a beautiful space. And now that I consider it further, I recall that space has always been of interest to me.
As we come to the final Sunday of September, I decided to share an essay I wrote in 2020.
I stumbled upon this short essay when I was searching in one of my folders on Word. I have to say, my folders and files are overwhelming. I am not at all incredibly talented at organizing things like this. My files could use some time put into them by someone who is much better than I am at finding things. Let’s just say that you would never want someone to be working in your office who is, well, like me? But let’s move on to a different space, now.
I have no idea where the drafts are for my 6 published books. I’d like to quote them at times, or put in stories or poems from those books, but I have no idea where to find any of the drafts. Seriously, this is not a skill that I have mastered.
In the early 90s, I had the misfortune of taking a job as Office Manager. I must have had a moment of insanity to think I would ever be happy working in the confines of an office and doing repetitive tasks day after day.
I just don’t have the genes for it. After 3 weeks, I hated this job so much I dreaded getting up in the morning. Finally, around 3 weeks into this nightmare of a job, I went out to lunch to walk around on my break. When I returned to the office, I went to the owners and turned in a 2-week notice – I quit! Over my long lifetime of working at many different sorts of employment, I can honestly say, this is the only ONE that I hated.
Below is the published article I found in my archives from 2002.
While you are reading this you ill catch a glimpse of why I could never be confined to office work. I am thankful for those who do that, but it sure isn’t me.
Information on all of my published books can be viewed at:
https://llambert363.blog/my-books/
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Poetry, Art, and Space.
©Lynda McKinney Lambert, All rights reserved.2026.
Question:
As a blind writer who is doing a presentation for an audience, how do you eliminate the spaces between lines where the machine tells you what to say?
(Note: I was asked this question by a blind writer. The machine I use is a small hand-held digital device, a Milestone. I have an earpiece in one ear, and I listen to the recording as I speak aloud to my audience.)
My response to this question follows.
Your question implies to me that you believe there is something undesirable about space or moments when I read a poem aloud.
Do you mean the use of space when reading a poem?
Or, in viewing an artwork?
Is it the use of space when authoring the poem or creating a work of art?
Does filling spaces mean a continuous stream of chatter?
Is it like watching TV programming or listening to the radio?
No, it is not a commercial concern for filling up space with something else. I view space as a shape in time.
In writing and in art, space is an important thing to recognize and experience. It gives us room to think and discover, at the same time we are reading, viewing, feeling, or listening.
Silent spaces are crucial to poetry – in drafting a poem, reading a poem aloud, and contemplating meaning. Begin to think of space as an actual place – it is a LANDSCAPE as tangible as a TREE, or RIVER.
In the poetry and art classrooms, space is essential. Long silences are important as students become a co-creator with the author or the artist who created the work they are viewing.
Understanding goes much deeper than speech.
I am very aware of space when I read – I want to be patient and take time for space to be experienced.
Space allows for breath – and it is breath that is the scaffolding on which the poem exists. I never read by thinking about “a line.” I am much more intent on breath and space when I read anything.
My observation over ½ century of making art and writing is that It takes many years to begin to understand that in reading a poem, or viewing a work of fine art, one must learn to fall into it – to lay in it, to travel deeply into it physically and conceptually. When I begin, I take a deep breath and wait a while before I speak. I have to get into the feeling of actually walking into this piece. I have to put my full attention into it – not parse it out in pieces.
The poem/art requires the entire body to get an understanding of it.
My work is influenced by Japanese ideals of balance and meaning.
For instance, I have a large Zen Meditation Garden which I tend daily. Traditionally, this type of garden is the opposite of what most people think of as a garden.
No flowers.
No waterfall or fountain.
No decorations.
It is about the entire space.
It is a complete world inside of the perimeter of the short wall of hand- cut barn stones
Instead, the garden is about symmetry, textures, and nature as a metaphor.
Every space is an essential element and part of the whole concept of stillness and timelessness.
Empty space is especially important in art and in poetry – yet it is not really empty. Space is actually a container that holds meaning.
When reading a poem aloud, it is that pause, that space, that allows the reader and the listener to be co-creators – both, engaged in creating that poem. The pause or space allows the listener to imagine and to think, without being rushed on to a new thought or phrase.
Think of Japanese woodcut prints. Empty space holds as much – or even more – meaning as the imagery does.
Filling up every space is cluttering. There is no room for breathing when the space is cluttered.
Visual and auditory space is as important as words. On second thought, I’d say that space is more important than words. The space literally breathes with life. Space gives time for contemplation and anticipation in a way that is powerful.
As I read aloud, I have no thoughts of eliminating space. It is the same if I am reading quietly in my office or before an audience. I am speaking my own words and thoughts.
The End.
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I encourage you to contact me Here.
riverwoman43@gmail.com
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NOTICE:
This essay was modified from Gifts of the Spirit. Published on July 7, 2020.
__Scripture:
Have you ever thought of a month of the year as a time to be still, or quiet, or to slow a pause in your writing or listening? I have always thought of September as t time to pay attention to the world around us, be still, and try to remember the little nuances of a day.
Scripture offers several verses that encourage stillness and contemplation:
- Psalm 4:4: Urges being still and communing with your heart.
- Psalm 46:10: Advises to “Be still and know that I am God.”
- James 1:19: Encourages being quick to listen and slow to speak.
- Psalm 19:14: Expresses a prayer for pleasing words and meditation
_Daily Action Plan
Make a habit of carrying a notebook, sketchbook, or recording device. I carry a recording device because I have low vision. Do what works best for you. Find a place that feels special and make as many notes as you can about what you are experiencing in that place. Many of my poems and essays are created from the notes I make as I am on the scene and writing down what I am feeling, hearing, seeing, smelling, touching in that place. I try to memorize the atmospheric conditions as well, to hold them in my thoughts so they can guide me when I am back at work in the office.
BONUS:
I will share a book that I have read dozens of times.
Come Away My Beloved, was first gifted to me on a July afternoon in 1973. I have read the original copy till it is falling apart. Something new comes to my mind with every reading.
Yes, it’s been newly published in a newer format that is updated to modern English.
Now, I read this new book that never grows old and never is familiar. This book changed my life forever as I stepped in a new way of living. I hope you find it as wonderful to read as I still do.
Come Away My Beloved – Here.
The book is small, almost pocket size – You can carry it easily in your handbag or pocket.
I can guarantee you will love the book as much as I do.
BONUS:
I will share a book that I have read dozens of times.
Come Away My Beloved, was first gifted to me on a July afternoon in 1973. I have read the original copy till it is falling apart. Something new comes to my mind with every reading.
Yes, it’s been newly published in a newer format that is updated to modern English.
Now, I read this new book that never grows old and never is familiar. This book changed my life forever as I stepped in a new way of living. I hope you find it as wonderful to read as I still do.
Come Away My Beloved – Here.
The book is small, almost pocket size – You can carry it easily in your handbag or pocket.
I can guarantee you will love the book as much as I do.
See you next Sunday for another BLESSING.
©Lynda’s Journal of Blessings, 2026._
Please let me know what you think. I appreciate your thoughtfulness.
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” Lynda’s Prayer Garden”
Photo by Bob Lambert
FYI
Final Note:
What inspired me to begin writing blog posts about BLESSINGS?
Your comments and prayers inspire the best in me.
Let me know if this message is helpful to you.
Thank you for sharing my Sunday Blessings posts with others to encourage them and share the Love of Jesus. Lets begin to think about what we are doing or saying. Thinking is so important to explore.
©Lynda’s Journal of Blessings, 2026.
FYI: My Background:
Professor Lynda McKinney Lambert taught fine art and humanities at Geneva College, in Western Pennsylvania, She was a tenured professor, an actively exhibiting artist, and a published author.
I created exciting courses across the disciplines – Art –
English Literature – Humanities.
My courses were taught on campus during the spring and fall semesters. In the summer, I taught in Salzburg, Austria for a month of travel and studies.
My passions in academia are poetry and fine art. I author books and I create fine art in several mediums – Painting and Fiber Art.
How I Found HOPEFULNESS in Unexpected Changes:
I discovered a new life after sudden sight loss. For the next two years, IDISCOVERED the world and my place in it in an entirely new way. I completed training for Personal Adjustment to Blindness, It took two years of training and lots of challenging work to learn to read and write using adaptive technologies for the blind. Ad the months went by, God was showing me that my creative life would continue,, but in some new ways.
I began to write Divinely inspired life lessons
New experiences and God-directed Opportunities
New DISCOVERIES to share with the world
A NEW SEASON on the Narrow Path with Jesus.
365 Days – My ONE WORD for 2026
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Lynda’s Latest Books are now available on Amazon and all retail booksellers.
Interview with Lynda Listen Here!
Each Day Holds Some Small Joy – Collection of Haiku and Tanka nature poems.
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Songs for the Pilgrimage:
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©Lynda McKinney Lambert, 2025. All rights reserved.
Photo: Courtesy of Allauthor. Thank you!
Books illustrated were created by DLD Books.
Lynda has 6 published books.
Memoir, Poetry, Non-fiction.
More About Lynda
©Lynda’s Journal of Blessings, 2026.