From Filiz:
A year and a half ago I was about to board a plane to Japan and for reasons I still don’t understand, I didn’t. Some invisible force had me stay put and I did not journey to the land I had, and still have, a deep and visceral longing for. The ten-thousand-kilometer distance between my location and Japan—the absence of physical proximity—transmuted into a strong relational presence in my life. It is one of the most intriguing relationships I’ve had with a place. I don’t have, yet, the right words to explain it.
間 / Ma in Japanese culture means space, interval, gap between things—absences that bring forth presence. It is not an undefined, limitless void but an intentional emptiness—the right amount of space between and around things—that serve relationship, meaning, and aesthetics.
For July’s Mystery Week we would like to contemplate on ma in a creative way and invite you to do the same. How can this concept inspire us to create meaning and beauty in our everyday lives?
