Reflections on the Tao Te Ching Chapter 11

Thirty spokes join in one hub
In its emptiness, there is the function of a vehicle
Mix clay to create a container
In its emptiness, there is the function of a container
Cut open doors and windows to create a room
In its emptiness, there is the function of a room
Therefore, that which exists is used to create benefit
That which is empty is used to create functionality

Source: taoism.net/tao-te-ching-online-translation

​The emptiness of the void. We tend to ignore what we can’t see thinking it unimportant. If I can’t perceive it with my five senses then why does it even matter? Why would I waste time on such things?
Chapter 11 invites us to a new way of looking at the world. Maybe you hadn’t considered it’s the space in a room that lets us use it – the walls simply define the boundary. Yet without that space it wouldn’t be much use would it?
Same with the vessel. Without the space you wouldn’t be able to carry water in it. Reflect on that next time you have a drink. Mathematicians – topologists in particular – get it but then they view everything in a novel, creative way.
Consider your body and meditate on the space inside your body. I invite you to take up the 6 elements practice where space is considered an element. The eastern philosophies understand this. Today then is an invitation to review how you perceive the world. Maybe things aren’t all they appear to be.
I look out of my window at the hedge. It is the spaces between the branches and leaves that allow the birds to make their nests there. It provides them with shelter.
Observe the space around you now. Next time you're looking at objects notice the space between them. Expand your mind and enlarge your world. Now you know this what else would be possible?