A few years ago, I wrote a post titled Exploring Negative Space that focused on the negative space in photography and how difficult it was to find a subject that wasn’t drowned out by background noise. More recently, in the post Clutter Blocking Your Wellbeing, I reflected on how background noise turns into clutter and can block all 8-dimensions of our wellbeing.
Yesterday, a beautiful Japanese concept that perfectly connects these two ideas crossed my path. It is called “Ma” (間).
My Story – The Sunset in the Gateway
In Western culture, we tend to view negative space as a void. An emptiness that we need to fill. If there is a blank wall, we hang a picture. If there is an open hour in our calendar, we book a meeting.
Ma challenges this mindset.
The literal kanji character for Ma combines the symbols for a gate and the sun.
It represents the precise moment sunlight filters through an open doorway. The magic isn’t the gate or the sun. Instead, the magic is in the opening. The clear space that allows the light to express itself.
When I looked back at my struggle to shoot a tree without background, I realized what I was searching for was Ma.
Designing Space for What Matters
When we look at the 8 dimensions of wellbeing (physical, emotional, spiritual, financial, occupational, intellectual, social, environmental), we quickly see how a lack of Ma creates friction.
We accumulate occupational clutter because we don’t leave space between meetings. We accumulate spiritual clutter because we fill our self-care hours with heavy activities instead of quiet stillness.
What if we stopped treating emptiness as a problem to solve?
What if we replaced “clearing clutter,” with actively designing Ma into our days?
Leaving a 15-minute buffer between tasks to sit quietly and transition. Leaving a corner of a room entirely blank to give our eyes a place to rest. Allowing a breath of silence before responding to someone.
By cultivating Ma, we change our relationship with time and space.
We stop rushing to fill the gaps, and we start letting the light shine through the doorway.
Your Turn
Have you ever experienced a moment of true Ma in your day?
Where is one area in your day where you can intentionally protect a gap or a pause?
When you consider all 8-dimensions of wellbeing, what would Ma look like for each?