Create your own space

I would like to thank fellow blogger Linda for inspiring me to write this post.  She gave her own post the title Find your sacred space, and I hope that you will read her thoughts on the subject too.

"Doing your own thing" is probably a more accurate summary of my own thoughts, however the title above is an indirect reference to CreateSpace, which allowed me to self-publish a revised version of my book "Retiring the Ole Way" after my original publisher decided to stop handling expat titles.

My "thing", clearly, is creative writing and I do have my own physical space for writing, which is where I am sitting now. However other writers will know what I mean when I say that, even when I'm not sitting in front of a PC or holding a pen in my hand, I am creating characters and plots in my head. I don't really need my own space to create, though it is good discipline as a writer to have somewhere to sit down and write and to do so on a regular basis.

My husband John has his own space too - sitting in his chair watching football on Spanish TV or encouraging fellow Scot Andy Murray, as he was doing yesterday!  However he isn't a couch potato, as he also enjoys walking our dog Lisa in the countryside near our house, which gives him some time on his own as well as keeping him fit.

We are both retired so spend most of the day together as do other retired couples, and fortunately we have many shared interests. However I think a sign of a healthy relationship is to enjoy doing your own thing as well and encouraging each other in your separate activities.  I love dancing, so I often put on a Zumba DVD while John is out with Lisa, plus I go to a Sevillanas class with my friend Juana María once a week.

It is easy to see which space is mine and which space is John's when you look into our bedroom. John's bedside table is fairly uncluttered, with a few manly toiletries, a watch and a rugby souvenir that his son gave him.  Mine is crammed full of female toiletries, a silver box with rings in it, a mug stand with my necklaces hanging from it and a pretty box containing the rest of my jewellery.  I guess the space we each have in the bedroom is a good reflection of our individual personalities.

My jewellery box

Do you have your own space?  Some place where you can be yourself and do whatever you enjoy, whether it is writing, reading, painting, sewing, watching sport, listening to music or something completely different. If not, why don't you create one now?