Yesterday was my birthday. This is always a time of celebration and reflection. I was reminded of a conversation I had with Rev. Kazumoto Yatsuzuka, overseer of the COG in Japan, a few years ago. We are both busy men who are trying to balance the important things and the urgent. I told him about a concept in Japanese art that speaks to me. Yo Haku, is the empty space on the canvas. In Japanese art, unlike western art, the white space is left intentionally blank. It isn’t filled up with trees and grass and bushes because the painting is about the bird, so they just show the bird and the branch he is on. The emptiness is considered as important as the bird because you need the margin around the object of focus to highlight its priority and keep things from being cluttered.

After a weekend of being together we went to a spa (I have learned to really appreciate Asian bath culture) and then out with our wives to eat a leisurely meal on a boat. As we walked to our car he remarked, “I have found another phrase that might interest you. “Yo Yu.” “What’s that?” I asked. “It means empty time. Time with no schedule. Just silence and a pause.” I smiled, “I must learn the way of Yo Yu.” (I balance my priorities pretty well. I just tend to schedule every possible moment of each day). This year I am going to try and leave some white space in my daily calendar. Stop the car and watch the sunset. Have a cup of coffee before driving home in the evenings. And just sit outside at night and listen to the silence of noisy Manila when it is asleep.