Lao Tzu on why the empty part makes a thing useful. From Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, about the 4th century BC.
An old story says Lao Tzu kept the records at the court of China’s Zhou kings. When the court fell into decline, he left. At the border, the officer of the pass asked him to write down what he knew.
He left a book of about 5,000 characters and was never seen again. No one knows if he really lived. The book probably grew over many years.
The Tao Te Ching, credited to Lao Tzu, says in chapter 11 that thirty spokes meet at one hub, yet the wheel works because of the empty center. A pot is used for its hollow, a room for its open space. Frank Lloyd Wright built Unity Temple around the space inside, and later gave Lao Tzu the credit for the idea.
What you leave empty is what makes a thing useful. Practical advice: in your next hard talk, let one pause run longer before you answer.
Well established · checked against 8 sourcesLet one pause run longer in your next hard talk.
“When someone opens up to me, I jump in with fixes. How do I leave them more room?”
Use the Empty Space and the other 11 ideas of Tao Te Ching, a minute at a time.
Download on theApp StoreEvery idea is drawn from the public-domain text, and its names, dates and quotes are checked against the sources listed with it. The paintings are made for Counsel; they show the scene, not a historical record.
