Space

“Thirty spokes meet in the hub,

Though the space between them is the essence of the wheel;

Pots are formed from clay,

Though the space inside them is the essence of the pot;

walls with windows and doors form the house,

Though the space within them is the essence of the house.”

~ Lau Tzu

The idea of the beauty of space, and how essential it can be, has been known to me for a very long time, in art, but it’s only recently that it has taken on new meaning for me in terms of living. So much of my life got filled up, and it’s only with making a tiny bit of space in my life recently that I have begun to realize how important it is in living as well.

It’s important in learning too. Any of us that have crammed for exams knows that the information doesn’t usually stick for long, just enough to pass the exam, hopefully. Yet with space we give our minds a chance to really learn the material. Have you ever struggled with something only to have an “Aha!” moment about it while taking a shower, or going for a walk, or some similar activity that allows your mind to wander? The concentrating on it is the stuff, the walk is the space.

It occurs to me that if I want to attain true mastery, to “remove everything in your environment that represents mediocrity” (Stewart Emory) then I need to remove things so that there can be space. Filling everything up is also a form of mediocrity. If you want to reach your peak performance, mastery, the spaces are essential.

The other night at the I Ho Chuan meeting I struggled because the team needed a lead for organizing the annual Chinese New Years banquet. I felt the urge to volunteer but held back because I only recently made a sliver of space in my life, and there is still so much more work to do on that front. It would be counterproductive to fill that space up again, and if I did, it wouldn’t be fair to my team, I wouldn’t do as good a job as I am capable of. Not aiming for perfection here but aiming for healthy, and mastery.

Numbers – obviously not good on most of them but a couple are good. Hopefully, now that I’m making more space in life, I will be better at this moving forward. The dogs have certainly helped me pack on the kilometres! They’ve taken up a lot of “space” too. Oh, and I always count the year according to the Chinese year instead of the Gregorian one.

Pushups: 1457

Sit-ups: 7365

Staves form: 425

Hand form: 142

RAoK: 181

Sparring: 404

Kilometres: 2006

Blogging: 25

Drawing: 8

Meditation: 61