While working at the studio today, the idea of the "third space" came up in conversation.  The idea is that we all have two primary spaces, work and home, that get a lot of attention, but that there is another space that needs some play.  The Third Space is reserved for You - things that bring you joy, satisfaction, and fulfilment.  This is not to say that you can't find joy, satisfaction, and fulfilment in your work or home spaces, but that when you find them in your Third Space you get to experience them for yourself, without obligation or responsibility for anyone or anything else.

Interesting.

My Home Space is full and busy.  Husband, kids, and pets are the obvious inhabitants, but I think the Home Space can be broadened to include extended family, close friends, neighbors, and the communities formed at each of my kids' schools and our synagogue.  This space also holds obligations- cleaning, laundry, bill payment, homework management, and all the other glamourous aspects that happen at home.

My Work Space is, well, full and busy.  Studio visitors, doula clients, fellow practitioners, members of committees and groups, staff, and others fill the rolls here.  There are to-do lists, more bills to pay, associations to join, networking to do, things to clean, papers to file, classes to teach (and develop and market and manage), certifications to maintain, and new things to learn fill up any empty spots here.

So, the Third Space - what does it hold for me?  It is challenging for me to find things that exhist soley in this space.  You see, I have carefully created a work life that involves most of what I would imagine folks would put in their Third Space.  I love to knit, for example, but this dips into the Work Space since I teach knitting classes at the studio and host a monthly knitting meetup.  I love to dance, but I teach that at the studio, too - several times a week (sometimes several times a day).  I love working out (yes, I mean that), but get most of my workout time in at the studio.  What's left to put in my Third Space?  Watching TV with my husband?  I can't figure out a way to work that into my Work Space...  :-)

I think the Third Space, for me anyway, is all about intention.  If I pull out my knitting and decide that the time I'm taking to create something is time I'm giving to myself then that project - Poof! - happens in the Third Space.  If I turn my music on at home and start an impromptu improv set then that dance moment - Poof! - happens in the Third Space.  If I eke out 20 minutes to hide in the basement and work up a sweat with Wii Active then - Poof! - I'm working out in the Third Space.  What I am realizing, however, is that taking the time to develop that intention is challenging.  It is so easy to get caught up in the shuffle of the day-to-day stuff that *needs* to get done in the Home and Work Spaces that my Third Space (now that I know I have such a thing) gets neglected.  What makes this more interesting to me is that I think, for many of the folks who visit, I've created a Third Space destination with the studio.  If my business is to make space for people to find their Third Space, shouldn't I be sure to do the same for myself?  I don't ask folks to do workouts I don't do myself, I don't ask more from my dancers than I ask of myself, and I don't ask folks to give attention to their kids that I don't give my own, so why should this be any different?

I hope, now that my eyes have been opened to this Third Space idea, that I will be able to find the time and well, space, for some changes.  What do you see your three spaces made up of, and how do you carve out your Third Space?  Do you see your Third Space as a solitary place, or one you only enter in the company of friends?  If you neglect your Third Space what are the effects?

Share your answers or just ponder the questions for yourself.  :-)