Many of us assume that what we see with our eyes is what there is. We see a tree in February with branches but no leaves and a frozen lake with seemingly no water moving. Nature changes color for winter, from autumn golds and browns to winter, much of it in black, white and gray. When we are in a northern climate the season change can be dramatic, not just the temperature but the landscape.

There is dormancy, hibernation, quiet preparation for what will become apparent as the sun shines brighter, as nature is preparing to blossom into the next season. But wait. Don’t miss what’s happening right now.

At this time of year I like to suggest to my Tai Chi students to look at a tree from a new perspective. Rather than just focusing on the branches, focus on the space between the branches. What is happening there? The in between space is filled with Qi, the energy of life. That space has value.

The Tao te Ching eloquently helps us think about empty space in a new way:

“We put thirty spokes together and call it a wheel;
But it is on the space where there is nothing
That the usefulness of the wheel depends.

We turn clay to make a vessel,
But it is on the space where there is nothing
That the usefulness of the vessel depends.

We pierce doors and windows to make a house,
And it is on those spaces where there is nothing
That the usefulness of the house depends.

Therefore, just as we take advantage of what is,
We should recognize the usefulness of what is not.” (From Tao te Ching, translated by Arthur Waley)

Take a look at the space between the tree branches anew. What is happening there?