The Usefulness of Nothing

I was going to write about a connection I made recently. We have the Panama Papers scandal, in which it has been proven that the global rich (many from the US) have hidden away between 20 and 40 trillion dollars in untaxed assets. This scandal has received scant coverage and less reaction in the US. Then we have the same people who shrug at the misbehavior of the wealthy, but who do express indignation and anger at the poor people who dare fight to raise the minimum wage. However, beyond the above observation, I have decided not to write directly about this. I will step back. Instead, let’s start with chapter 11 of the Tao Te Ching (Trans. Victor Mear): “Thirty spokes converge on a single hub, but it is in the space where there is nothing that the usefulness of the cart lays. Clay is molded to make a pot, but it is in the space where there is nothing that the usefulness of the clay pot lays. Cut out doors and windows to make a room, but it is in the spaces where there is nothing that the usefulness of the room lays. Therefore, Benefit may be derived from something, but it is in nothing that we find usefulness.” Like the best of the Tao Te Ching it is simple yet thought provoking. Thinking about this chapter, it is when I empty myself that I can become the most full. If I sit and meditate, empty my mind, in a natural place, the sights, sounds, and smells overwhelm my senses. I become an uncarved log, reconnected to the world and full of possibilities. When I run and get into the zone after a couple of miles it is the opposite and the same. The outside world is there, but only peripherally. I turn inward to my thoughts, which work best when unbridled and uncontrolled. My mind wanders where it may in the space of the room of my mind. I learn best when I hold back preconceptions and listen, an empty room. Few people seem to have the space to be an empty vessel. Instead we are filled with preconceptions constantly pouring into us from the world around. When you hear about poor people do you listen? or do you assume they are lazy and entitled? Are the wealthy really hard-working entrepreneurs? How do you know whether J.M. Keynes or Milton Friedman is right? or do you not know who they are, but only the particular ideology which has been poured into you? Because we have filled ourselves with these preconceptions and ideologies about other people, about the way the world works, we are no longer constructive or connected. We are just voices, lots of voices, parroting what we have heard. Noise. You can recognize you have no useful space within when you hear yourself saying, “this is the Truth.” Really? Is it the truth or simply your opinion? You can recognize you have no useful space within when you hear yourself saying “this is who I am, this is the true me.” Is it? Is it really the only possible version of you? Empty the pot, clear the room, be an uncarved log. “stand back, be silent, be still.” Listen. Then speak, but humbly. Then act, but with unforced effort.