Tip #13: Get yourself a bubble.

Joseph Campbell said, “Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.”

Where do you and your children go to be alone, think, create? Is it easy or hard to find space for quiet, deep work?

The practice of creating a dedicated space for such work doesn’t need to be an issue of additional square footage or special design. A chair by a window can suffice as long as its purpose is declared and honored.

My habit has become to create an imaginary bubble and say, “Guys, I’m in my bubble because I need to think. If I don’t answer you, that’s why.”

Surprisingly, with big arm movements to demonstrate the existence of my bubble, my impromptu sacred space is respected.

This practice of creating a space and dedicating it as sacred will feed directly into daily life for our children at Acton. From Day One, they will notice an emphasis in the concept of studios as sacred spaces – reverently dedicated to the purpose of learning and self-discovery. How nice for them to start off with a personal, homespun understanding of this practice.

Our annual reclaiming of the studios will go beyond daily maintenance and clear boundaries such as not yelling or running in the studios. It will extend to creating simple traditions – designed by the Eagles – for entering the studios. The action of touching a stone or stepping in with the right foot each time, for example, will instill mindfulness around being within these purposeful spaces.

Maria Montessori said, “The greatest sign of success for a teacher…is to be able to say, ‘The children are now working as if I didn’t exist.’”

This kind of freedom to work, grow and create depends in large part upon the daily practice of honoring the time and space we share. It, too, is why we are on this journey at all.