The Political Manifesto of Gaps and Spaces #auspol #writingonthewall #calligraphy

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Miss Eagle is a very much out of practice calligrapher - and has never been of the standard seen above. To-day I am dishing out some political advice and rules which can and should be applied irrespective of party which are based on a very important lesson that calligraphy has taught me.

When one studies and practices calligraphy, one learns a very important lesson - that the white space is just as important (sometimes more so) than the letters or designs placed on the paper/parchment/fabric.

Calligraphy is as much about 

the white spaces between the letters, words and lines 

as it is about the shape of the letters themselves. 

Incorrect spacing 

can make calligraphy look awkward, 

even if you've shaped the letters perfectly.

~~~

There are people who never follow politics in any depth on a daily or weekly basis. Just before an election they, as dutiful citizens, will obtain a copy of the party manifesto/policy and use the document to shape their decisions.  This in spite of the fact that few political parties fulfil the ambitions of their written words.

There are people who follow particular political parties.  They pay attention to the daily doings and they can always explain the intricacies of their party's policies to you even when the politicians do 180 degree pivots with the grace of a prima ballerina.  

I want to give you the manifesto or policy of the gaps and spaces.  

Take time to listen deeply to what our politicians and our community influencers are saying.  Take time to check out whether their actions match their words.  Do actions and words remain stable over time or do they change like the arms of a weather vane?  And, after you have done these two things comes the most important thing of all.

Check out what they are not saying, check out what they are not doing.

Just as the white space has the ability to define what we see written, drawn or painted in calligraphy, so the gaps and spaces of our politicians and and community influencers defines  what we hear them say and what we see them do.  What is omitted?  What is left untouched?  How are the spaces positioned? What characteristics are determined by the gaps and the spaces?

I have thought about the gaps and spaces for quite some time.  Three months ago I saw evidence of it in action and wrote about it here.  That event was defined for me by what was omitted, not by what actually occurred.  It gave me a view of reality that those who are overlooked, not mentioned, not acted for see frequently.  How many  times in my life have I had eyes and ears only for written and spoken words and lacked the perception and presence of mind to look for the reality of gaps and spaces; of what is overlooked, unsaid, and left out?

As regular Networkers will know, I am fond of quoting the ancient phrase Cui bono?  Who benefits? Facing the gaps and the spaces and asking that question opens us up to a new discernment.  It will tell us more truly than anything else who are the real beneficiaries of the political party, of the political manifesto.  It will tell us more truly than anything else where the real deficiencies of the political party, of the political manifesto lie.  

It is only with the knowledge gained from such discernment that we can campaign effectively for real and widespread community benefits.