Mind the Gap

             I love the disembodied voice that tells me to “mind the gap” when I step off the tube. This kind of support prevents me from  falling through the cracks of the underground, literally (read blog entitled “Double-decker Smackdown” to fully understand) and figuratively. Mind the gap, the space between (worlds, events, moments, thoughts etc…) so as to not fall through life’s cracks and meet with despair, panic. terror and anxiety. A friendly reminder to “mind the gap” during times of high stress is a lifesaver; it keeps us on track. We should all get an app for that.

             “The gap” is the space between or the God space, the space of possibility. And we should “mind it,” as in “pay attention to it.” We should mind the space between one moment and the next, and mind the space between all transitions in our lives (big and small). The space between here and there is miraculous because it is the nowhere space, which we all know means “now here.” I so often forget to be now here and end up nowhere (in the idiomatic sense—“that got me nowhere”—) because I perseverate on the past or the future or all the what-ifs in my life. Instead of minding the gap, I try to control it and in doing that, I fall right in instead of stepping right over. The gap becomes a hole that swallows me instead of a bridge to what’s next. Mind the gap—pay attention to it, be present, so you don’t fall and get lost—in the past, in the future, in the bullshit of whatever is happening to you; but, don’t mind the gap like “the Dude minds, man.”  When you “mind” things in that way, when you let “your thinking get too uptight,” then you forget to mind the gap in the correct fashion, and you fall in and down the rabbit hole into the land of crazy. So mind the gap and stay healthy, present, and happily moving along.

            Also, I love that the tube station right near where I am staying is called Angel.  Brilliant…as the Brits would say.