Beautiful. I needed this reminder and although unfamiliar with "Ma," certainly familiar with breathwork and the practice of "being" which I have ignored lately. So, thank you, as always, for your reflection.
Today your piece makes me hold two disparate things: the Japanese word "Ma," which I knew nothing about before reading this excellent essay, and the Greek word "idion." Hannah Arendt: "a life spent in the privacy of 'one’s own' (idion), outside the world of the common, is “idiotic” by definition . . ." (The Human Condition, p. 38). I love how you turn to the political implications of Ma. Words that come from silence are best. Perhaps words that lead to, or even amount to, action are best. I think our professional-class politics has made our own public lives inconceivable. Politics has become nothing better than another source of noise, disassociated from our capacity for silence and action.
Beautiful. I needed this reminder and although unfamiliar with "Ma," certainly familiar with breathwork and the practice of "being" which I have ignored lately. So, thank you, as always, for your reflection.
This is just what I needed to read right now.
Thank you, Lindsey
Today your piece makes me hold two disparate things: the Japanese word "Ma," which I knew nothing about before reading this excellent essay, and the Greek word "idion." Hannah Arendt: "a life spent in the privacy of 'one’s own' (idion), outside the world of the common, is “idiotic” by definition . . ." (The Human Condition, p. 38). I love how you turn to the political implications of Ma. Words that come from silence are best. Perhaps words that lead to, or even amount to, action are best. I think our professional-class politics has made our own public lives inconceivable. Politics has become nothing better than another source of noise, disassociated from our capacity for silence and action.
I'm printing out this article and framing it.