In Praise of Physical Spaces
Spring has arrived in the Pacific Northwest. At last, trees are in bloom and the air is aromatic with flowers. Sun-starved and winter-weary, I and my neighbors emerge from our houses into warm breezes, long twilights, and the promise of summer. One wants to get out (and away from one’s computer).
So I write today in praise of physical spaces.
1. Parks
Several times a week, while strolling over lawns, under maples, up and down footpaths, I reflect upon the soul-nourishing qualities of a good park, however small. Here in Portland we’re lucky to enjoy some fine examples of urban green spaces, one of them designed by a co-creator of Manhattan’s Central Park. A good park may provide us the universe in the space of a city block.
“Talk of mysteries!” wrote Thoreau in his glorious book, The Maine Woods,
Think of our life in nature, — daily to be shown matter, to come in contact with it, — rocks, trees, wind on our cheeks! the solid earth! the actual world! the common sense! Contact! Contact! Who are we? where are we?
2. Libraries
Libraries embody the best of civilized life (again, Portlanders are particularly lucky here). A library is an inspirational cornucopia, a portal into the abundance of human consciousness. In the reverent silence of the library stacks the world’s knowledge awaits anyone, and at a well-lit library table reflection rules — no pop-up ads! That’s a space worth visiting. We end our library pilgrimage enriched, arms piled with books we’re at liberty to enjoy for the better part of a month — for free. That’s civilization.
3. Cafés
In these wonderful spaces, which for the price of a small hot beverage provide sanctuary from the bustle of the world, we may meet and converse with a friend amid the aroma of coffee and baked goods, or sit alone at our favorite window table over a good book and espresso. Though the majority of cafés today offer a free house wi-fi connection, that’s only a tiny bit better than getting linked up at home. Best to be in this space entirely, undistracted by a screen.
4. Churches, temples, and synagogues
The earliest church-builders understood much about the virtues of well-designed physical space and human interaction with it. “The mind arises to truth through that which is material,” said Abbott Suger, father of the Gothic window. Crossing the threshold of Chartres cathedral or that of Istanbul’s Blue Mosque, one enters into a special consciousness oriented to higher laws. In these spaces, aglimmer with candles, mosaics, or stained glass, we understand our lives, ourselves, and our world a little better.
Walk, reflect, read, and be well.
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