Mine the Gap

It’s easy to treat the gap like a to-do list item.
A problem to solve.
An inefficiency to address.
I thought my job was to close it.
Fast. Clean. Correctly.
The faster I tried to close it,
the less I understood it.
The more I missed.
I noticed I was skipping something.
Something valuable.
Something alive.
I paused for a moment.
Stayed in the discomfort.
Named what was here.
Noticed what I preferred.
Let the difference between those two things
be the work.
That’s when it became evident.
The gap isn’t something to fix.
It’s something to mine.
Not for certainty.
For clarity on how I could contribute.
Now, when I notice the gap,
I don’t close the gap.
I make it mine.
I remind myself:
This space is an invitation.