The Allure of Liminal Space
What does liminal space mean for you?
A peculiar component of identifying liminal space is how you define it. The very nature of liminal space is elusive. Such space can shift in how it feels. Is your response to liminal space positive? negative? neutral? You be your own judge to your own experience.
A key aspect of liminal space is that you don’t have a script to follow. You’re not exactly sure of the “right” thing to do. There’s no distinct right or wrong in the liminal space; in the liminal space it’s a matter of adherence to a particular pathway/timeline. Whatever you decide, that is what the “right” choice must be for you.
Liminal space can feel like a juncture. You don’t know where you’re going and you don’t have a map. You’re navigating through what could be considered an uncomfortable place. Do you feel resourced to allow the discomfort?
Another component is determining guidelines and social distinctions. You feel your way through this, rather than take pages from a rule book. Amidst liminal space, you can feel boundary-less. You will cling to thoughts — some old, some new — and reconfigure how to behave moving forward.
Liminal spaces are fluid and free-floating. They can be a bit dizzying like flying between trapeze bars. What does the desire to grab the next bar feel like for you? Can you refrain from grabbing the next bar if it’s only to fulfill an impulse to hold the next thing?
You are allowed to embrace the uncertainty of not knowing the next thing. This is where you can be free of previous rhetoric and echo chambers. You can formulate some unique expression. An opening for ideas and questions. Curiosity can envelope your being, rather than acting as a chamber that must be granted access.
When sensing within a liminal space, it’s predictable to want to look for cues around you. It’s temping to copy what previously appeared to be working for you. It’s understandable not to scrap everything. In lieu of being completely innovative, reformulate what feels good for you. Desire to get your bearing will grown strong.
As you choose your mental constructs, do you see yourself complying or challenging the status quo? Some of one more than the other? Are you noticing a capacity for leadership or desire to blend with the crowd? Once again you shall designate your own emotional positive/neutral/negative distinction to these designations.
Remember, the word liminal means ‘to occupy a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold.” It’s derived from the Latin word “limen,” which means threshold. To be in a liminal space means to be on the precipice of something new but not quite there yet. Can you feel the excitement in that meaning?
You can be in a liminal space physically, emotionally, or metaphorically. It can be a defining moment in your life, or it can seem like an innocuous choice that barely moves the needle. It can be uncomfortable and nerve-wracking and it can be exciting and invigorating. All mixed together. How do you honor liminal space?
