What Makes the Wheel Go 'Round (Tao Te Ching 11)
The picture in the background was taken by us in Jingdezhen China, where fine porcelain has been crafted by hand for at least a millennium.
11.
Thirty spokes meet at a hub.
The empty space at the center
is what lets the wheel go ‘round.
Spin away.
Shape your clay.
Craft your cup.
The empty space of the vessel
is what lets it receive fullness.
Chisel windows and doors
out of the walls
to make a house.
The empty space between the walls
creates room for living.
Therefore, what exists
can be crafted for our advantage.
But, it’s the empty space
that makes it useful.
Reflection
It can be unsettling to feel empty. It can be terrifying for life to empty us. Nevertheless, the greatest joy comes with the release of ephemeral things. Lao Tzu isn’t trying to get us to look naively on the bright side of life. He’s noting that emptiness is the space that can be filled. If you are looking for fulfillment right now, ask yourself: how full has whatever you’ve been gorging on thus far been making you?
In these uncertain times, despite the legitimate need for mourning and compassion on those who are suffering, we can also embrace the way in which life is forcing us to do what Jesus gently invited us to do two thousand years ago. By letting go, we are embraced eternally. In humility we are lifted up. By letting go of false treasures we encounter richness.
The illustration used in this chapter is one that is hard to forget. The space in the middle of the wheel is nothing, but it is everything when it comes to the movement of the wheel. Want to move? Embrace the negative space. Want to find peace, empty yourself to find spiritual fulfillment. Can’t get the courage to empty yourself? Wait for it. It will come whether you want it or not. Why? Because false treasures let you down. Whatever death can take from us isn’t our ultimate treasure anyway. Once we realize that, we find life anew.
May you allow times of externally imposed stillness to become times to truly listen to rich lessons. May you allow losses of our times to inspire you to seek greater treasures than you’ve sought thus far. May those treasures be lasting. May you find joy in the space created by emptiness to bring abundance to your own dear heart and to all you encounter.