The importance of MA

As I talk with friends, family, and clients during these strange and uncertain times, I am reminded of the importance of Ma.  Ma is a Japanese concept of space or the interval between things.  It is the space, gap or void that allows all things to be. MA is the emptiness full of possibilities, like a promise yet to be fulfilled.  Beautiful don’t you think? Here is an ancient poem by Lao Tse that illustrates Ma.

Thirty spokes meet in the hub,

but the empty space between them

is the essence of the wheel.

Pots are formed from clay,

but the empty space within it

is the essence of the pot.

Walls with windows and doors

form the house,

but the empty space within it

is the essence of the home.

Right now, creating time and space for contemplation and thought assimilation is fundamentally important.  We need the empty space or interval to determine our relationship to what is happening around and within us.   You could even say that with Stay Home orders this is the great time of Ma.  We are, as a planet, being forced to explore the space or void between our overscheduled, overstuffed, overdoing, overcomplicated lives and the feelings and thoughts we have about it.  In the time before Coronavirus we never stopped to breath let alone contemplate our feelings or thoughts.  This time is allowing us to clear the clutter, physical, mental, and emotional, to uncover the things that are important to our souls.  What does your soul whisper to you in the gaps that are opening?  Does it yearn for time? Time to create, time to spend with those you love, time to explore, time to devote to just being, time for something else.  Does it year for space?  Space to become who you’ve always wanted, space to enjoy fresh air and quiet, space to expand?  Ma is calling, will you answer…