Absent or Present. Solid, or Empty.

Am I solid? Quarks zip between my atoms and give me no heed. I'm only as solid as needed to support my 12 lb Siamese cat, nestled on my lap as I type this.

I'm only as liquid as the fluids of my body and my Earth and the great hand that swirls its fingers through us. Thales wrote that all things begin with water... I think of the fluid in my eyes which shapes my vision with its precise tension, or the fluid of my inner ear redistributing sound so that I can perceive and interpret it. Even my sense of smell improves when my nostrils are wet or the humidity is high.

Is anything solid? Only my intent to be present here and now.

The rest is ephemeral as hundreds of cattail tufts, blowing toward me in the late afternoon as I walk, or the memory of Mom's Easter bread baking...her secret, a hint of orange zest in the batter.

Is tenacity or strength synonymous with solidity? I cut dill to season my omelet. Before preparing it, I catch a whiff of cat urine left behind by Kia in an effort to mark his territory on my balcony. A few days, and a drenching rain washes the dill clean.

How solid was the acrid scent of urine on dill? How solid was the power of the rain, patiently releasing each tendril from its chemical bondage?

I suppose Lao Tsu has the last word on solidity and emptiness…

Thirty spokes share the wheel’s hub;
It is the center hole which makes it useful.
Shape clay into a vessel;
It is the space within that makes it useful.
Cut doors and windows for a room;
It is the holes which make it useful.
Therefore profit comes from what is there;
Usefulness from what is not there.

(from the Tao Te Ching, translated by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English)