Last year was all about slowing down, looking inward, and investing in the business in ways that would leave us feeling resourced and nourished, rather than depleted and stressed. On the Haven blog, we asked ourselves a series of questions related to doing less, supporting wellbeing, investing in quality, being present rather than doing more, finding happiness in our work, and the true meaning of beauty.

We talked with some of our favorite beauty-makers, gleaning wisdom from their collective experience and expanding our own sense of what’s possible. The insights and sense of renewal we gained have made me super excited to step into 2023 with passion, intention and gratitude.

This year, while holding the lessons learned close to heart, we’re excited to start a new series of interviews related to our core values. We want to explore and define what is important to us—what makes us, us. A few core values that come to mind right away are kindness (perhaps our most closely-held core value), spaciousness, wellbeing, beauty, restraint, serenity, timelessness, meaningful connection, mindful awareness, and allowing/effortlessness.

In that spirit, I thought I would start the year by sharing some of my thoughts about the idea of spaciousness…

A yearly ritual
Normally, around mid-December, I get an itch. The MQ team can see the look on my face and knows to brace themselves for the whirling dervish about to make her way through every square inch of our office… emptying drawers and cabinets, cleaning out old samples, getting rid of anything not in regular use. It is a way of clearing physical space to make way for psychological space… room to grow, room to expand, space to see things differently, freedom to be creative.

I recently heard about a Japanese concept called Yutori in an interview with Naomi Shihab Nye, speaking with Krista Tippett on her OnBeing podcast. In the interview, Naomi recalls a student teaching her the concept of Yutori… a kind of living with spaciousness—a way of being that gives your life, the space you are in physically, the time you are living within, all a little space… and room to breathe. “For example, it’s leaving early enough to get somewhere so that you know you’re going to arrive early, so when you get there, you have time to look around.”

I love this concept—the idea of giving my calendar, just like my office, room to breathe. The idea that in appreciating the space between, the moments between moments, we give time for noticing, for appreciation, for thoughts, feelings and creativity to marinate.

At Mead Quin, our mission is to enhance well-being. We do this by creating spaces of beauty. As we continue to explore and make connections, we look forward to sharing what we learn with you, our clients, collaborators and friends. Here’s to a new year in which we give ourselves, among other things, the gift of space.