There’s something special about liminal spaces. They have the power to transform us, to open up new possibilities and worlds for us. They are in-between places, transitional zones where the old order is breaking down and the new one hasn’t quite taken hold yet. That makes them unstable and unpredictable, but also full of potential.
Think of the pandemic we’ve had over the past two years.
We’ve just been through a collective liminal space in time.
Certain segments of our life cycle as humans can also be thought of as a liminal space in our development. Think of a child on the cusp of adolescence. They are no longer a child, but they are not yet an adult. They are in a liminal space between childhood and adulthood. This is a time when they are exploring who they are and what they want to be. They are trying on different identities and experimenting with different things. It is a time of great change and transformation.
Liminal spaces can be found everywhere. They are the places where we transition from one phase of life to another, like adolescence or retirement. They are the in-between places in our journey from birth to death. They are the borders and thresholds that we cross — like the border between life and death, or the threshold of a new year.
They are also the places where we come face to face with our mortality. These are the moments when we are forced to confront the fact that we are not immortal. We are fragile and vulnerable creatures, subject to sickness, injury, and death.
In some cultures, liminal spaces are considered to be sacred. They are seen as places where the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead are blurred. They are places where we can commune with our ancestors and connect with other realms.
In many religions, liminal spaces are used for rituals and ceremonies. These are times when we let go of the old and embrace the new. They are times of transition and transformation.
Liminal spaces can be found in our daily lives, too. They are the moments when we are between tasks, or between meetings. They are the moments when we are waiting in line, or when we are on hold on the phone. They are the times when we are in transit, whether we are commuting to work or traveling to a new place.
Liminal spaces have a way of opening us up to new possibilities. They force us to confront the unknown and step outside of our comfort zones. They challenge us to let go of the past and embrace the future. In many ways, they are the places where we become our truest selves.
What does liminal space mean to you?
Check out my post on the liminal spaces the pandemic has brought us:
As well as all my other posts about life and all its complexities:
