We take space for granted. We know it and are aware of it. ‘The Tao Te Ching’ reminds us that a room or doorway is only of any use because of the space between the walls and frames that make it so.

Space is endless, shapes are put in it and all of them rise and fall as animate and inanimate are all impermanent but that which we never notice is always there.

So it is with consciousness, we know we are conscious, we are aware of it, but because it’s always there, we forget it. We think it belongs to us but we belong to it. It’s universal, always there, we are borne out of it and return to it. It bears witness to our thoughts and emotions but never takes ownership of them.

To be mindful is to know this and pay attention to it. We don’t need to know about it, we are it. All we have to to do is to realise it. To see not only the spaces between things but also the spaces between our thoughts and emotions.

This is true mindfulness.