What does it mean to share space with another individual?
I think New Yorkers understand this question all too well. We share a subway with each other everyday. We can’t afford our own apartments so we move into tiny apartments filled with other humans. Shared space is inevitable.
I was thinking about this particularly after I had just had a long discussion with my theatre group about building a physical space together for our work and the amount of sacrifice that would be. Yet, to us, the cultivation of that shared space is the most important.
I think in order to have a shared space that functions well there needs to be a level of trust and communication. I walked onto the subway after this discussion and the only space I could find to stand, a guy was leaning his whole body up against the pole while his girlfriend comfortably held on next to him. I was uncomfortable but I didn’t say anything. First mistake.
However, interestingly, even after his girlfriend informed him that I was holding on super high because he was hogging the pole, he did nothing to change his actions.
So I learned that yes communication is necessary if everyone wants to be able to share the space equally and comfortably. But also, sometimes even after communication that is not possible. That shared space becomes hostile. There is no longer trust that we each have the collective’s best interest at heart.
A truly beautiful shared space I believe not only has communication and trust but it also shares vision. Vision asks what can this space become? Vision is transformative.
Vision requires sacrifice to build. If we collectively pool our resources we can transform an ordinary space into a beautiful space. Sometimes the transformation is simple. I bought a shower curtain because I was tired of not having a shower curtain. My dream though would be to sit down with my roommates and be able to communicate our personal visions about our shared space (I did this years ago then our situation changed) just as I am doing with this theatre group.
Not every space we occupy will have these ideals I strive for in my shared space. I recognize that. I hope though that when someone shares a space with me that the space somehow transforms when we leave it.
As a believer I think Jesus’ answer to a similar question is a wonderful rule to live by. He taught “love your neighbor as yourself.” Someone asked him, “Who is my neighbor?” He responded with a story.
In the story two people from two separate communities were traveling through the same location. One was attacked by robbers and left there to die. The other found him and cared for him, while others who were supposedly more connected to the man by religion or values, passed him by.
His answer was that everyone who occupies the same space as you in a given moment of time is your neighbor. Therefore, love that person as yourself.
This was why I found myself crying when I watched Black Panther. The central question was the same “who is my neighbor? What space am I responsible for?” This tribe did not just save their own they went after the poor communities that also needed much.
What if we collectively took care of the spaces we lived in? What if we cared about the people who share space with us? What if we had vision to transform a space from one thing into another thing? These are important questions we need to set out to answer for ourselves.
