Captain Michael: We usually think of emptiness as something missing.
Taoism sees it differently.
Lao Tzu wrote about a wheel.
Thirty s
We usually think of emptiness as something missing.
Taoism sees it differently.
Lao Tzu wrote about a wheel.
Thirty spokes come together at the hub, but it is the empty space in the center that allows the wheel to turn.
Clay is shaped into a vessel, but it is the empty space inside that makes the vessel useful.
Walls, windows and doors make a room.
But we live in the space between them.
That changes the way you look at “nothing.”
A sailor understands this in a practical way.
An empty locker is not wasted space.
It is possibility.
An open stretch of water is not nothing.
It is room to maneuver.
A quiet morning is not an empty morning.
It is a morning that has not yet been filled for you.
We are very good at filling things.
Our homes.
Our calendars.
Our conversations.
Our minds.
Sometimes we fill every available space and then wonder why there is nowhere left to move.
Perhaps everything does not need filling.
Maybe the pause in a conversation belongs there.
Maybe the blank page does not need words yet.
Maybe an hour with nothing planned is not an hour wasted.
Maybe there are parts of ourselves we do not need to define.
The Taoists understood something we often forget:
What is absent can be every bit as important as what is present.
So perhaps this Thursday morning, instead of asking what else we can add to our lives, we might ask a different question:
Where could I use a little more room?
#Taoism, #LaoTzu, #TheWatercourseWay, #Emptiness, #Simplicity, #Wisdom, #Stillness, #Philosophy, #SailingLife, #LifeAfloat, #LiveaboardLife, #CaptainMichael
Captain Michael: We usually think of emptiness as something missing. Taoism sees it differently. Lao Tzu wrote about a wheel. Thirty spok
We usually think of emptiness as something missing. Taoism sees it differently. Lao Tzu wrote about a wheel. Thirty spokes come together at the hub, but it is the empty space in the center that allows the wheel to turn. Clay is shaped into a vessel, but it is the empty space inside that makes the vessel useful. Walls, windows and doors make a room. But we live in the space between them. That changes the way you look at “nothing.” A sailor understands this in a practical way. An empty locker is not wasted space. It is possibility. An open stretch of water is not nothing. It is room to maneuver. A quiet morning is not an empty morning. It is a morning that has not yet been filled for you. We are very good at filling things. Our homes. Our calendars. Our conversations. Our minds. Sometimes we fill every available space and then wonder why there is nowhere left to move. Perhaps everything does not need filling. Maybe the pause in a conversation belongs there. Maybe the blank page does not need words yet. Maybe an hour with nothing planned is not an hour wasted. Maybe there are parts of ourselves we do not need to define. The Taoists understood something we often forget: What is absent can be every bit as important as what is present. So perhaps this Thursday morning, instead of asking what else we can add to our lives, we might ask a different question: Where could I use a little more room? #Taoism, #LaoTzu, #TheWatercourseWay, #Emptiness, #Simplicity, #Wisdom, #Stillness, #Philosophy, #SailingLife, #LifeAfloat, #LiveaboardLife, #CaptainMichael
We usually think of emptiness as something missing. Taoism sees it differently. Lao Tzu wrote about a wheel. Thirty spokes come together at the hub, but it is the empty space in the center that allows the wheel to turn. Clay is shaped into a vessel, but it is the empty space inside that makes the vessel useful. Walls, windows and doors make a room. But we live in the space between them. That changes the way you look at “nothing.” A sailor understands this in a practical way. An empty locker is not wasted space. It is possibility. An open stretch of water is not nothing. It is room to maneuver. A quiet morning is not an empty morning. It is a morning that has not yet been filled for you. We are very good at filling things. Our homes. Our calendars. Our conversations. Our minds. Sometimes we fill every available space and then wonder why there is nowhere left to move. Perhaps everything does not need filling. Maybe the pause in a conversation belongs there. Maybe the blank page does not need words yet. Maybe an hour with nothing planned is not an hour wasted. Maybe there are parts of ourselves we do not need to define. The Taoists understood something we often forget: What is absent can be every bit as important as what is present. So perhaps this Thursday morning, instead of asking what else we can add to our lives, we might ask a different question: Where could I use a little more room? #Taoism, #LaoTzu, #TheWatercourseWay, #Emptiness, #Simplicity, #Wisdom, #Stillness, #Philosophy, #SailingLife, #LifeAfloat, #LiveaboardLife, #CaptainMichael
