The Thin Space

Well, hey there, Cadre. Happy Sunday morning. Happy self care Sunday. And if it's not a happy day, that's okay, too. You may prefer that it was a little bit happier, a little bit lighter, a little bit brighter, a little less stressful. But know that you are thoroughly capable of being seen, of feeling your feels, of thinking your thoughts, no matter how you are, no matter where you are, no matter what's going on. So my name is JC Lippold. On Sundays, we do self care. We talk self care all day long.

You're gonna go ahead and see wonderful, wonderful individuals in the morning time, and then later on this evening, you'll see another set of contributors who will jump on to kind of wrap up your Sunday evening. As I said, my name is JC Lippold. And if we've never shared space and time together before, thank you for the opportunity to do so. If we've never shared space and time together before, why don't you say hi in the chat? And if you have shared time and space together before, say hi in the chat, too.

I'd say get in the routine of when you jump into a live stream, make yourself be seen, heard. Say good morning. Say good afternoon, say good evening, say. Say how you are. Say what's going on. Because when you do that, every single person who is here right now benefits from knowing that they are not alone. And not just because this person is speaking to you on the screen, but because there's a lot of people right here. So you see Jules saying, good morning, you see Marisa saying, good morning. So many people flipping on in for a few minutes of doing something really good for yourself right here, right now.

So we talk about the thin space. Anytime that you see my face on a Sunday, what is the thin space? Well, it is Jocelyn. Nice to see you, my friend. The thin space is a concept curated by franciscan monks. Franciscan monks find the space in between light and dark, beginnings and ends, good and bad, seasons and other seasons. In that space in between, that's where they try to nuzzle in. That's where they try to root themselves down. So for the better part of a couple decades, I've always tried to create this, this secular thin space between what has been and what will be, to see what there is to find.

Now, it's a different way to think of the idea of presence. And how much time do you spend on unpacking the past? Like, right now, if you, like, scanned your mind, how much of what you're thinking about is thinking about last week or thinking about yesterday? Or thinking about this morning. Maybe memories are coming to mind of loved ones or of previous seasons, previous years, previous chapters in your life. Yeah. So maybe you spend yourself spending a lot of time unpacking the past. Maybe you're the person, especially on a Sunday, when the week is waiting on the other side of this night, this coming night.

Right? Monday is right there. Maybe you're going, oh, gosh, here are all the things that I need to be thinking about, that I need to plan for, that I need to set aside. So maybe right now you're thinking about tomorrow or next week or next year. How many of you are literally sitting in the moment that you are in right now? That's not a critique, right? It's good to unpack the past if we don't learn from the past. Yeah. There's something we miss out on if we don't dream and plan and stress and worry and hope for the future.

Yeah, we miss out on something. But there's one moment that you actually have some power in, and that is right now. Isn't it funny? If you've been here on Sunday mornings before and you've heard me talk about thin space, you're like, yep, JC, I've heard this. I've done this. The message doesn't change every single time we come back to it. It's like returning to that familiar place again and again. And even though it's familiar, even though we've been here before, there's something new to find. So right now, as you come back into this moment, what are you finding?

This is another good moment to maybe type into chat and go. I'm finding that this hooded sweatshirt feels extra soft today because it's a little bit cold and rainy outside. I'm in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. That's where my dad was born. I am finding a familiarity rather than this being a place that I visit. It's feeling more and more like home, even though it's not home for me because I've been here a lot. Me going like, wow, I feel comfortable here. I feel seen here. What are you finding in the thin space right now?

What are you finding in the moment that you are in that perhaps if you didn't take this moment to focus in, to nuzzle in, you'd maybe miss it. My invitation. Enter the thin space. Whenever you find yourself having a moment, become aware of something that is right now. We do that regularly. I have a sneaking suspicion that you're going to be nourished by the now more and more. Jewel says, I'm putting a puzzle together and enjoying my coffee. That is amazing. And what's amplified in that moment. If you're actually focusing on the puzzle and enjoying roots, like Jules didn't say, and I'm having a cup of coffee, it's like I am enjoying a cup of coffee.

Yeah. Speak wonder says, I'm enjoying the wild birds at my feeder just outside my window. Right. Again, an idea of enjoyment and proximity. Right. Just outside the window, there's a connection to birds who are entering into speak wonder space. How different are those birds experiences, knowing that there's someone watching over them? So throughout today, throughout this week, enter into the thin space. And every week, as we come back and we talk about it again and again. Marisa, this is so funny.

At first I thought it said, AI and I are having a quiet morning in our porch with coffee and JC. And then I was like, nope, that's not AI. That's Al. Hi, Al. Nice to see you, my friend. I don't know why I'm finding that to be so funny. 2024. Al turns into AI when you see it typed out. Yeah. Notice, right? Marisa said quiet morning. To be able to be aware of the quiet. These are the opportunities. Marisa. Maybe Al is AI. Surprise. Keep doing the things you're doing out there, everybody. This Cadre spear is really, really, really powerful.

The thin space is a breath of rarefied air. Speak wonder. You are a wordsmith. I very much agree. We'll talk to you soon, everybody. Have a good one.