Marumarum is a publication focused on sending Positive Messages Into Negative Spaces.
Every week we share brief articles on a variety of topics aiming to shed light on a new aspect of life.
-Parker at Marum
[014] Meeting Margin
How often do we fill our lives with little to no margin for error, rest, or the unknown? Maybe life demands a lot from us. Maybe we are prone to over busy ourselves. Or maybe we don't take advantage of the time we don’t realize we do have. Whatever our reasoning is for living life filled to the brim, the busier we become the less time we have to maneuver which amplifies the value of time found in the margins of our life.
Too often we find ourselves mentally, physically, and emotionally hurried from one happening to another. We carry our emotions in our mind and body from these happenings, and when these feelings become a burden we find ourselves physically drained and mentally wound up, ready to flush our minds in either helpful or harmful ways. Little do we realize, or remember, that we can find or create time in our day to help ease the transition between happenings and our overall day by meeting the margins.
The margins of our lives exist in two ways: the margins we create and the naturally built-in margins of life. Natural margins exist when we have a transition between events, ideas, or happenings. For example, if we are preparing to leave for work, on a large scale we have the margin of our commute from home to work and on a smaller scale we have the margin of time when we walk to our car before and after driving. On the other hand, we have built-in margins of our life where we decide when and how our day is planned. With life so busy and our life maxed out in the busy category, we must look to the margins to find the small bite-sized renewal we might encounter as we transition from activity to the next
In our busyness, we often overlook the 30 seconds to the handful of minutes we have or can create in our daily happenings. We don’t realize the power that 30 seconds or a few minutes can have on the rest of our day. For example, we can take this time to mentally prepare, establish a baseline or foundation, breathe, check in with ourselves or others, and much more. The margins of our lives exist no matter how busy we are, yet the busier we are the more likely we become overwhelmed by the belief that we don’t have time to live in the margins of life. Painfully, even though we leave out the margins in our busy lives, the margins only matter even more. We need these margins to take back our confidence, clarity, rest, and energy in any way we can.
Sometimes we chose to be busy and sometimes we have busy seasons of life. So when life is full to the brim, ready to overflow into messes we inevitably have to clean, will we seek to meet the small margins of our day?
In order to activate the margins of our day into mini-motivational pauses, we need less energy than we think. Meeting the margins of our life usually only takes an exceptional reason to propel us into wanting to do or feel more than we are experiencing right now. Our reasons can be general or specific, short-term or long-term. As long as the reason is mentally motivating enough to see us start the habit of activating the margins in our day then we are well set up.
Once we have our reason(s), we can use this newly carved space and time for trial and error. Popular techniques like breathing, taking a short walk, self-affirmation [written or spoken], and stretching are simple actions that can be utilized as a “soft reset” before entering our next happening. We usually have to be creative about how we do these actions as stretching in the middle of the office probably won’t work out for us. If you make coffee at 2 pm every day, take an extra minute to breathe or stare out a window, or think of gratitude you have. Meeting margins might feel unhelpful or like a waste of time as physically it is difficult to switch from a sympathetic state into a parasympathetic state. But like with most things in life, we need to find the balance between what works for us and practice to maximize our margins.
The full, busy nature of life whether chosen or not can be met and worked with when we meet our margins with a reason. Once we build intentional margins into our day, we might be surprised with how we feel heading into and leaving stressful or joyful happenings. Think about your schedule and what actions you routinely do. See if you might be able to meet the margins in a small way, and hopefully, this will provide a beneficial change for yourself.
🥀 Thanks, Nature: Flaxseed*
Looking for more omega-3s? Looking to spice up shakes or smoothies? Did you know that Hippocrates used flaxseed as a laxative??? High in fiber and omega-3 fatty acids, ground flaxseed is a relatively tasteless and great addition to a variety of foods such as smoothies, yogurts, and salads.
Learn more about ground flaxseed here, here, and here.
🪨 Weekly Rocks
Weekly Rocks are reminders of significance meant to support and build the foundation of who we are becoming and being. In this space, you will find quotes, articles, links, ideas, and more.
[+] Social Media Is Not Self-Expression is an article breaking down an important realization many artists and individuals need to realize the next time we use social media.
[+] “This environment is a sacred place, designed to be treated with care, wonder, and appreciation. In it, we will find rest.” Towards Rest book by Alabaster.
[+] 🌟 Must Read: Try Softer by Aundi Kolber.
🎨 Creative Resources
[+] Looking for some Figma templates? Soren Iverson has some templates with invoices, project proposals, and Dribbble shots.
[+] Ever heard of Motivational Interviewing? See how this skill might benefit you and your career.
[+] If you use Notion [which I highly recommend], here is a free Habit Tracker Template for you to utilize.
Marum Resources:
[+] Are.na
By reading this article we hope you have the opportunity to have insight into something new in life. Thank you for reading!
Marum Studios: Sending Positive Message into Negative Spaces
[*Note: we are not medical professionals! Consult with a medical professional before making changes to you lifestyle. We wish you a healthy and happy journey.]