A Theory on Space

One of my favorite parts about Vietnam was the time I got to spend with our group from the US: Jane, Rob, Elizabeth, Paige and Lillian. We shared stories, passions, and life for two weeks.

I love how meeting new people and learning about their lives can come into play in my own life later.

Rob is a mathematician and shared an interesting theory on the Vietnamese and their perspective of space based both on their driving and their swimming. Rob is a competitive swimmer and spent several hours a day swimming while we were doing our work. And in the US, we swim in our own lanes like this:

And we drive in our own lanes like this:

But in Vietnam, there is no sense of staying in ones lane- not for driving, and not for swimming.

And Rob has a theory on this. Here we think of our path as a lane. We know the space we currently occupy and the space ahead of us and we think of it as ours. We move forward in life when we know exactly where we are going.

But in Vietnam they only occupy the space they are currently in. Not what is ahead or behind. Therefore all space is up for grabs and so you just move forward. There is no seeing the complete path directly ahead.

And this morning, I read this:

"Apart from me, there is no God." Isaiah 45:5

I keep learning more and more about the only opportunity to experience God is in the now. God is only present to me in the current moment. The one I have now. And when I choose not to be in that moment, I choose to be apart from God. When I worry over mistakes of the past, or hold anger towards those that have hurt me, or think continuously of my life as a list of 'to dos', I choose to miss the beauty in front of me. When I don't take the next step forward, because I can't see the whole path, I choose fear instead of hope. When I focus on my lane ahead, neglecting the space I currently occupy, I miss God.

So while it makes driving and swimming difficult for those of us preferring everyone to stay in their own lane, I think there is something to learn from this theory on the Vietnamese concept of space. Let us honor the space we currently occupy. Let us live in this moment. And let us experience in the Now all the joy, hope and love that is God.