Over the past couple days I’ve been doing my share of packing. We’ll soon be moving out of our house, and all our stuff is getting stored away in boxes and containers for the move.
Now, when you’re packing a box, the goal is usually to get as many things as you can into it. Ideally, with the proper arrangement, everything would fit perfectly together so that every square inch of space is used efficiently.
As I’ve been doing this with my books and tools and other miscellaneous items, I’ve also been thinking how this is similar to how we might approach life. We have so many hours in a day (the box), and so many responsibilities and opportunities (items to be packed) that need to find a place on our schedule. So we try to fit everything together, and eventually our days can get so packed that there is literally no space left.
And while this lack of space may be great if we’re packing, it’s not a wise approach for living. If it goes too far, it leaves no margin for the unexpected things that come up — and things will come up.
When I’m packing a box, I know what I have to work with — I can see how many things need to go into the box. I don’t have to worry about surprise items showing up later. In life, though, we have no idea what unexpected emergencies or opportunities or conversations may come up. And if there’s no room, we’ll either miss out on opportunities, or feel the stress of trying to cram one more thing into a schedule that’s already too full.
So many of life’s important moments are not scripted or scheduled ahead of time. And although planning and efficiency have their place, there’s also value in having margin and availability for whatever may happen to come our way.
Reaching a place where’s there’s no extra space is a great feeling if you’re packing a box — but not if you’re looking at your life.