“If you have rich empty oases in you, places for refreshment and pause, you can more likely enjoy a happy life. If you see a stunning mountain or lake as you travel, you can stop and take time to do nothing and look. If you see a child in need of attention, you can let go of what you are doing and be of assistance. If you need to just sit in a chair, you won’t be tempted by a habit of hyperactivity to avoid the welcome rest.
“Think of your life as full of parks, beaches, and mountain trails. I don’t mean this literally, but as metaphors for how you spend a day. Having windows and doors in your daily schedule, you won’t be confined because you will know now how important it is to cultivate emptiness.
“Keep some empty easy chairs in your heart, too, so when people come along, there will be places for them to visit and be warmly received. Keep some empty spaces in your head so when a new idea appears, you can entertain it. Be empty so life can happen.
“Emptiness may be a profound spiritual achievement, or it may be a quality in ordinary life. The two are related, because a simple empty hour can invite a profound spiritual realization. The Heart Sutra could be your main resource as you invite emptiness into your life – everything can be empty and therefore open to vast meaning. Even emptiness itself may be empty enough to affect your very existence.”
